Evaluation of Epstein-Barr Virus Indirect Immunofluorescence Assay Results

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to diagnose Epstein-Barr virüs (EBV) infection using indirect immunofluorescence assay (IIFA) method and to evaluate these patients clinically. More than 90% of children are infected with EBV until the age of six. Methods: The tests were studied by using EBV IIFA method. A total of 247 patients, 186 adults, and 61 children, were included in the study. Results: 5 (2.7%) of the adults were EBV-Capsid antigen (EBV-CA) IgM positive, 175 (94.1%) were IgG positive and 6 (3.2%) were seronegative. 10 (16.4%) of the child patients were IgM positive, which is considered as an acute infectious mononucleosis (IM) infection marker, whereas the child patients had a significantly higher IgM rate than adults (p <0.001). 39 (63.9%) of the child patients were IgG positive and 12 (19.7%) of them were seronegative. The rate of IgG positivity in children was significantly lower than in adults (p 0.05 for each).Conclusion: These results suggest that the presence of an acute EBV infection should be considered when the patient has viral diseases with similar clinical picture especially for children.