6 ms·

How do you even test for EBV? The GP I asked laughed it off when I was living in Canada basically saying I am already positive and no need to test.

currency 5y ago
This was a study conducted by the military on soldiers. They all contributed three blood samples over a period of time that were tested for a large number of conditions. EBV was the only one that contributed to MS.
epgui 5y ago
You can test for pretty much anything in a research setting. In a clinical setting, doctors will rely a lot on heuristics and practical considerations, and there may not be any clinical testing available.
- bluGill 5y ago
  Even if there is a test, sometimes it is insanely expensive and so they won't give it if they can find any other way to decide.
cestith 5y ago
There are at least two tests for it, or at least there were in the mid 1990s. One's a quick clinical test with lots of false negatives than can be done in-office but unless it's a campus healthcare clinic at a university they probably don't bother. The other is a more sensitive lab test that takes a few days. If you're having a really serious set of symptoms they may test to confirm it's not something else. If it's a minor case, two weeks of bedrest fix a lot of issues in a young adult and you do probably already have it anyway.
rmind 5y ago
If you want to test whether you already had EBV, then it would be a test for Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA). It shows whether the virus has established the latency in your body. Most laboratories would just label it as "EBV IgG", so just ask for that. If you are in your 30 or older, then you most likely have had it already.
- panabee 5y ago
  thanks for sharing. does this test for EBV in both latent and lytic phases? EBV seems very adept at evading the immune system. does this also impact our ability to perform accurate detection (i.e., could current methods yield false negatives)?
  - csdvrx 5y ago
    They have like 2 separate tests: one for old EBV (IGG) and one for new EBV (IGM or maybe it's the other way around?) IDK about false positive though
  - rmind 5y ago
    EBV VCA IgG antibodies remain present for the rest of your life, as your immune system maintains certain antibody levels to keep the virus in check (it's a delicate host-virus balance). EBV VCA IgM indicates a primary EBV infection and these antibodies remain for a few months, until seroconversion happens. They might not necessarily be present immediately. During the primary infection, the virus is in active lytic replication which can accurately be shown by an EBV PCR test. Once the virus establishes latency, EBV PCR will be negative. It may occasionally become positive when EBV reactivates, but it may also reactivate in other compartments i.e. it infects more than just B-cells and the standard PCR test wouldn't show that. There are more antibodies involved and the whole thing is more complex than just the lytic and latent cycles.. the immune system is very complex.
    - panabee 5y ago
      thanks! this answers many questions already. a few more if you don't mind: 1. if VCA IgG antibodies persist for life, how does EBV reactivate? 2. when you say, "may also reactivate in other compartments," this implies that standard PCR tests only verify infection in b-cells? what tests verify infection/activity in epithelial cells? 3. are you on social media? would love to follow you.
      - panabee 5y ago

currency 5y ago

This was a study conducted by the military on soldiers. They all contributed three blood samples over a period of time that were tested for a large number of conditions. EBV was the only one that contributed to MS.

epgui 5y ago

You can test for pretty much anything in a research setting. In a clinical setting, doctors will rely a lot on heuristics and practical considerations, and there may not be any clinical testing available.

bluGill 5y ago
Even if there is a test, sometimes it is insanely expensive and so they won't give it if they can find any other way to decide.

cestith 5y ago

There are at least two tests for it, or at least there were in the mid 1990s. One's a quick clinical test with lots of false negatives than can be done in-office but unless it's a campus healthcare clinic at a university they probably don't bother. The other is a more sensitive lab test that takes a few days. If you're having a really serious set of symptoms they may test to confirm it's not something else. If it's a minor case, two weeks of bedrest fix a lot of issues in a young adult and you do probably already have it anyway.

rmind 5y ago

If you want to test whether you already had EBV, then it would be a test for Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA). It shows whether the virus has established the latency in your body. Most laboratories would just label it as "EBV IgG", so just ask for that. If you are in your 30 or older, then you most likely have had it already.

panabee 5y ago
thanks for sharing. does this test for EBV in both latent and lytic phases? EBV seems very adept at evading the immune system. does this also impact our ability to perform accurate detection (i.e., could current methods yield false negatives)?
- csdvrx 5y ago
  They have like 2 separate tests: one for old EBV (IGG) and one for new EBV (IGM or maybe it's the other way around?) IDK about false positive though
- rmind 5y ago
  EBV VCA IgG antibodies remain present for the rest of your life, as your immune system maintains certain antibody levels to keep the virus in check (it's a delicate host-virus balance). EBV VCA IgM indicates a primary EBV infection and these antibodies remain for a few months, until seroconversion happens. They might not necessarily be present immediately. During the primary infection, the virus is in active lytic replication which can accurately be shown by an EBV PCR test. Once the virus establishes latency, EBV PCR will be negative. It may occasionally become positive when EBV reactivates, but it may also reactivate in other compartments i.e. it infects more than just B-cells and the standard PCR test wouldn't show that. There are more antibodies involved and the whole thing is more complex than just the lytic and latent cycles.. the immune system is very complex.
  - panabee 5y ago
    thanks! this answers many questions already. a few more if you don't mind: 1. if VCA IgG antibodies persist for life, how does EBV reactivate? 2. when you say, "may also reactivate in other compartments," this implies that standard PCR tests only verify infection in b-cells? what tests verify infection/activity in epithelial cells? 3. are you on social media? would love to follow you.
    - panabee 5y ago