EBV Reactivation in Individuals with Long Covid - Preprint

Springbok1988

Senior Member
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136
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.06.21.22276660v1

The full article is not available and it has yet to be peer-reviewed. Nonetheless, I thought people might find it interesting.

Evidence of recent Epstein-Barr virus reactivation in individuals experiencing Long COVID


Abstract:

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation has been proposed as a driver of Long COVID (LC), but studies in well-characterized post-acute COVID-19 cohorts of individuals with and without Long COVID symptoms over a time course consistent with current case definitions of LC are limited. In a cohort of 294 hundred adults with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, we observed that LC symptoms such as fatigue and neurocognitive dysfunction at a median of 4 months following initial diagnosis were associated with serological evidence of recent EBV reactivation (early antigen-D IgG positivity or nuclear antigen IgG levels >600 U/mL), but not with ongoing EBV viremia.. Importantly, Long COVID was also observed in the small proportion without evidence of prior or recent EBV infection, suggesting that EBV reactivation is not a prerequisite for this condition. Overall, these findings expand our knowledge of the relationships between EBV reactivation and LC and suggest that further assessment during the acute phase of COVID-19 is warranted.
 
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Pyrrhus

Senior Member
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Thanks for posting!

It sounds like EBV reactivation is a very common symptom of Long Covid, but it's just a symptom and not everyone has this symptom.

recent EBV reactivation (early antigen-D IgG positivity or nuclear antigen IgG levels >600 U/mL)

Interesting cutoff. Of course "recent EBV reactivation" can also sometimes mean "current EBV reactivation", even without ongoing viremia.

Discussion about how to determine "recent/current EBV reactivation":

Labs for Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)
https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/labs-for-epstein-barr-virus-ebv.87383/