ABSTRACT
There were clinical descriptions of infectious mononucleosis in the 1880s. The recognition of the atypical lymphocyte as a hematological marker for the disease led to more specific diagnostic criteria. In the 1930s it was noted that heterophile antibodies (human antibodies that react to cells from other animals) developed during the course of infectious mononucleosis, and a diagnostic test that was the forerunner of the current rapid diagnostic tests was developed. The Epstein-Barr virus was described in 1964, and in the 1960s and 1970s large-scale epidemiological studies demonstrated that heterophile-positive IM occurred in patients who did not have preexisting EBV antibody but who later acquired antibody to EBV. These epidemiological studies allowed the recognition of subclinical EBV infections. It became apparent that 10%–20% of the cases of heterophile-negative mononucleosis were caused by other conditions, including cytomegalovirus infection. It is now recognized that EBV is also associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Burkitt’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and B-cell lymphoma in immune-compromised patients.
