ABSTRACT
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a highly successful human pathogen, with greater than 95% of the world’s population harboring latent EBV in their B-cells. This remarkable infection rate is achieved by the highly efficient transmission route of the virus from persistently infected persons to na€ve individuals, most likely through saliva. Infection with EBV most frequently occurs in early childhood and is usually asymptomatic. Infection during early adulthood is frequently associated with infectious mononucleosis which is a benign and self-limiting lymphoproliferative disease. Seroepidemiological evidence suggests that EBV infection is widespread in China and that practically all Chinese children in Hong Kong are EBV positive before 15 years of age (1).
