ABSTRACT
With the ready availability of sophisticated laboratory procedures and inquiring physician minds, an increasing array of uncommon illnesses and diseases are being attributed to infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). This is part of the expanding phenomenon and the advent of research programs supporting the evaluation of new and emerging infectious diseases. Just as the expanded scope of possible diseases attributed to EBV is unlikely to represent ‘‘new’’ illnesses, emerging infections are only likely to reflect pre-existing illnesses whose identification is made possible with advances in molecular epidemiology. The illnesses described in this chapter are putatively caused by EBV, but the principles that form the association can be applied to many infectious agents.
