One sunny afternoon, biologist Emily was in the lab doing a routine viral test. Her goal is to study a rare virus called Epstein-Barr virus. Although the virus is very common in the population, there is relatively little research on it. Emily is curious about this mysterious virus, and she hopes to reveal more of its secrets. During the test, Emily noticed a sample of the virus that was out of the ordinary. The genetic structure of this virus is different from other known Epstein-Barr viruses, which caught her attention.
After further research and analysis, Emily found that this new EBV may be more contagious and pathogenic, and also found that the virus spreads more rapidly in certain populations, such as adolescents and young adults, and that adults can cause serious infections under certain circumstances, which can even lead to life-threatening. This is the Epstein-Barr virus that we are going to talk about today--- Epstein-Barr virus.
Epstein-Barr virus is a member of the genus Lymphoblastovirus in the family Herpesviridae, with a double-stranded linear DNA genome with a round shape and a diameter of 180 nm, and its basic structure contains three parts: nucleoid, capsid and capsule.
Pathogenicity of Epstein-Barr virus: Epstein-Barr virus mainly infects B lymphocytes, and it is generally believed that EBV adsorbs on the surface of B lymphocytes through related viral proteins, thereby infecting and transforming B lymphocytes, and the transformed B lymphocytes cause an immune response of CTL (cytotoxic T lymphocytes), and the immune response of CTL is the main cause of clinical pathogenesis.
Infectiousness of Epstein-Barr virus: Humans are the host of Epstein-Barr virus infection, and the virus is mainly transmitted through saliva (droplet transmission is also possible, but less common). Asymptomatic infections are more common in young children, and 90% of children aged 3 to 5 years have been infected with EBV. Cellular immunity plays a key role in EBV infection, and a decrease in this function will lead to the activation of EBV. The reason for this is that the EBV can only multiply in B lymphocytes, allowing its transformation to be passaged for a long time. Lymphocytes infected by the virus have a genome of EBV and produce a variety of antigens.
The main disease of EBV infection in children is infectious mononucleosis, and the common symptoms are fever, swollen lymph nodes, sore throat, enlarged tonsils, rash, etc. Most patients have fever of varying severity, which lasts for about 1 week and is severe for 2 weeks or longer.
Swollen lymph nodes are a feature of the disease and can affect superficial lymph nodes throughout the body, most commonly in the neck. Some patients have an enlarged parotid gland. Most children have a sore throat, enlarged tonsils, white exudate in the pit, and occasionally pseudomembrane. Splenomegaly is common and is usually palpable 2 to 3 cm below the costal area, with pain or tenderness in the splenic area. Most of the liver is less than 2cm below the cost, often accompanied by abnormal liver function, and some patients have jaundice.
Infectious mononucleosis is a benign, self-limiting disease that has a good prognosis in most children, with complications such as haemophilic syndrome rarely occurring. The disease is mainly symptomatic, and attention should be paid to rest in the acute stage of infection, especially when the liver function is seriously damaged, bed rest should be given and liver protection and lowering enzymes should be given**, and anti-DNA viruses such as acyclovir and ganciclovir can also be used**, it should be noted that antiviral** can reduce the level of viral replication and the time of pharyngeal excretion of virus, but can not reduce the severity of viral infection, shorten the course of the disease, and reduce the probability of complications. Antibiotics should be used if there is a bacterial infection**, but ampicillin and amoxicillin should be avoided to prevent superenzyme reactions and aggravation of infection.
Although the vast majority of children infected with EBV are not severe and have a good prognosis, parents should still take effective measures to prevent this infection. There are hundreds of bacteria in the mouth of adults, and there are more than 270 kinds of bacteria that are transmitted through mouth-to-mouth kissing.
Therefore, to prevent EBV, it is necessary to start by avoiding kisses. But at the same time, parents don't have to be too nervous, they don't need to be afraid of kissing like a snake and scorpion, as long as they don't kiss the child's lips, hands, mouth, nose and eye area, choose to kiss other places, such as the forehead and cheeks. Therefore, if parents and friends want to prevent EBV infection in their children, they should still use the correct way of kissing, and temporarily avoid too much intimacy with their children when they are sick. Healthy Wintering Program