The "silent" virus is "activated" by the new crown, infecting 95% of adults, resulting in new crown sequelae and even terminal illness!

Introduction: Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) is a human gamma herpes virus that has infected more than 90% of the world's population, including more than 95% of healthy adults [1]
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Whether you accept it or not, at this moment, there is a high probability that EBV is lurking in you and me, so EBV infection is called "everyone's disease"
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The transmission route of EBV is mainly through oral contact, so EBV infection is also called "kissing disease"
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So, what impact will such a high infection rate virus have on human health? Is there any vaccine protection? What are the consequences when the new crown meets EBV? Pathogens, Science, and Cell have all reported on this, so let's find out
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Pathogens: Most COVID-19 sequelae are caused by reactivation of EBV On June 17, 2021, a research team including the World Health Organization and Brown University published a study entitled "Investigation of Long COVID Prevalence and Its Relationship to Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation" in Pathogens Results (Figure 1) [2]
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The study found that many long-term COVID symptoms may not be the direct result of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but rather the result of EBV reactivation induced by the COVID-19 virus
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 Figure 1 Research results (Source: Pathogens) A total of 357 subjects applied to join this study, of which 185 patients who recovered from the new crown passed the application and were included in the trial pool, and finally 68 patients with new crown sequelae were included in the trial
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The 68 patients were divided into four groups: two primary (long-term) study groups and two secondary (short-term) study groups
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The "long-term COVID group" consisted of 30 subjects who tested positive for COVID-19 at least 90 days prior to enrollment, and all reported one or more long-term symptoms of COVID-19 used for this study ; "Long-term COVID control group" consisted of 20 subjects who tested positive for COVID-19 at least 90 days prior to enrollment and did not have any long-term COVID symptoms; "Short-term COVID group" consisted of 9 subjects consisted of subjects who had tested positive for COVID-19 within 21-90 days prior to enrollment, and all reported one or more long-term symptoms of COVID-19 used for this study; the "short-term control group" consisted of 9 consisting of subjects
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Analysis of blood samples from subjects found: 1.
The overall prevalence of long-term COVID was 30.
3% (56/185) among subjects in the experimental pool, including 4 initially asymptomatic COVID-19 patients who later Long-term COVID symptoms were also present; 2.
66.
7% (20/30) of long-term COVID subjects versus 10% (2/20) of control subjects were EBV-reactivating viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgM positive and had Significant differences; 3.
Similar EBV positivity rates were observed in 18 subjects 21-90 days after testing positive for COVID-19, suggesting that EBV reactivation may occur shortly or concurrently after COVID-19 infection
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 "It is clear that EBV reactivation may play a role in the long-term consequences of SARS-COV-2 infection, a series of unexplained sequelae after recovery from Covid-19 patients," said Jeff Gold, a WHO researcher and long-term researcher on COVID.
Fatigue, brain fog, rash, etc.
, are the same as we expect from EBV reactivation
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"Science: Terminal illness caused by EBV, incurable" On January 13, 2022, a research team from the Harvard School of Public Health published a study titled "Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis" in Science (Fig.
2) [3]
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Studies have found that EBV is the main cause of multiple sclerosis (Multiple Sclerosis, MS), and the level of neurofilament light chain protein, a blood marker of neurodegeneration, increases only after EBV infection Figure 2 Research results (Source: Science) MS is a chronic demyelinating disease of the central nervous system of unknown etiology
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  When MS occurs, the immune system will attack the protective sheath (myelin) that coats nerve fibers, and Causes the brain to not be able to communicate with the rest of the body, eventually causing permanent damage or degeneration of nerves
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The signs and symptoms of MS vary widely, depending on the degree of nerve damage and which nerves are affected
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Some people with severe MS may have difficulty or no independence at all Walking, others may require long-term remission without any new symptoms (Figure 3)
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Unfortunately, as an autoimmune disease, MS is currently incurable, and the cause of the disease is unknown, but the scientific team EBV is thought to be the likely culprit
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 Figure 3 MS involving the nervous system (Credit: Mayo Clinic) For the study, the research team conducted a 20-year collaborative study with the U.
S.
military, collecting data from 1993 to 2013 More than 10 million blood samples from ethnically diverse active-duty U.
S.
military personnel, including 955 cases of MS diagnosed with MS while in service
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The scientific hypothesis that MS is caused by EBV was tested by analyzing data from blood samples taken from U.
S.
military personnel at the beginning of service and every two years after service
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The study found: 1.
EBV-infected soldiers were 32 times more likely to develop MS than uninfected soldiers; 2.
The level of neurofilament light chain protein, a blood marker of neurodegeneration, increased only after EBV infection; 3.
EBV infection predates not only the onset of MS symptoms, but also the detectable pathological mechanisms of MS
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 Alberto Ascherio, who led the study, said: "Only with a large number of people participating in this study will it be possible to demonstrate the association of EBV with MS for the first time
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In the past, the high prevalence of EBV in the general population has been a causal link between EBV and MS.
Huge hurdle, this study shows that EBV is the main cause of MS, but there are clearly other factors involved, such as genetic factors in EBV positive individuals and vitamin D deficiency etc.

For
example, most smokers will never develop it Lung cancer, too, most people infected
with
EBV do not develop incurable MS The Nobel Prize winner James R.
Heath team published a research result entitled "Multiple early factors anticipate post-acute COVID-19 sequelae" in Cell (Figure 4) [4]
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This study identified four prior risk factors for the development of long-term COVID: type II diabetes, SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in blood, EBV infection levels, and specific autoantibodies
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 Figure 4 Study results (Source: Cell) About 31%–69% of COVID-19 patients have long-term COVID, which may last four weeks or more, including memory loss, gastrointestinal distress, fatigue, loss of smell, Shortness of breath and other symptoms
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Researchers believe that long-term COVID is related to autoimmune factors and residual virus fragments in the body, so blood and swab samples from 309 patients with COVID-19 at different time points were collected, and comprehensive phenotypic analysis was performed, and the clinical data and Patient-reported symptoms were combined for an in-depth multi-omics, longitudinal investigation
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The results found: 1.
EBV, which infects 90% of the world's population, is usually inactive in the body, but is reactivated early after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is significantly associated with symptoms of long-term sequelae of the new crown; 2.
Specific autoantibodies (with The presence of autoimmune diseases such as lupus) can lead to long-term COVID in patients; 3.
The blood viral load in the early stage of SARS-CoV-2 infection is closely related to the long-term symptoms of COVID-19 after the patient recovers, so administration is very early in the course of the new crown Antiviral drugs can potentially prevent long-term COVID; 4.
Analysis of participants' electronic health record data found that type 2 diabetes was significantly associated with some long-term COVID
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 "Identifying risk factors for long-term COVID is an important step forward in understanding not only the long-term sequelae of COVID-19 and potential treatments for it, but also what Patients are at the highest risk of developing chronic disease
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These findings also help us think about the impact of other chronic diseases, such as post-acute Lyme syndrome
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” EBV is a lifelong tug-of-war with the immune system 1 The discovery of EBV began with thousands of cancers Tumors have been the leading cause of human death for many years, but no effective preventive and therapeutic measures have been found because of the intricate origins
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Denis Parsons Burkitt and Michael Anthony discovered the first human tumor-associated virus, EBV, in 1964
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Denis Parsons Burkitt often sees abnormal jaw tumors in young children in Uganda, which later become Burkitt's lymphoma (Figure 5)
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Burkitt suspects that the tumor was caused by a pathogen, because the tumor has a characteristic of regional spread, can spread in children and grow rapidly, doubling in size within 24 to 48 hours and filled with white blood cells or cancerous lymphocytes
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  Figure 5 A seven-year-old child with Burkitt lymphoma (Credit: Mikeblyth) In the 1970s, Hank Balfour, a virologist at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, was studying the long-term survival prospects of kidney transplant patients when he noticed a small Some people's disease went on to develop a rare form of cancer, and nearly all of those patients were infected with a virus called Epstein-Barr
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Balfour said: "EBV can lie dormant in human cells for a long time, assimilate quietly in body tissues, and it is almost impossible for the immune system to clear it.
Once infected, EBV will accompany us for the rest of our lives
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" 2EBV is usually mild, but However, its pathogenicity should not be underestimated.
EBV is a linear double-stranded DNA virus with three basic structures: nucleotype, capsid and envelope
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The first target cells infected by EBV are epithelial cells and B cells, which can escape the immune damage of the host, and are latently infected in B cells.
When the body's immunity is low, it can be reactivated and proliferated, causing corresponding diseases.
, a common virus of tumors
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EBV persists throughout life, and chronic infection in most people is asymptomatic, but immunocompromised patients may have uncontrolled EBV infection, increasing their risk of serious disease
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 Figure 6 The clinical manifestations and pathogenic mechanism of EBV infection (Source: [5]) EBV-related diseases include hematological-related tumors such as Burrkit lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, NK/ T-cell lymphoma, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, X-linked lymphocytic dysplasia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, systemic EBV-positive T-cell lymphoma, etc.
, and autoimmune diseases such as systemic erythema Lupus, multiple system sclerosis, non-lymphoid tumors such as colorectal cancer and gastric cancer, infectious mononucleosis, nasopharyngeal cancer, chronic active EBV infection, etc.
(Figure 6)
.

 Figure 7 EBV-related diseases (Source: Care Online) 3How to protect against EBV? Is there a vaccine? As a virus that cannot be removed, we can only work on prevention.
Before that, we must first know how EBV is infected
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Patients and EBV carriers are the source of infection, and there is a large amount of virus in their salivary glands and saliva, which can be continuously or intermittently excreted
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The transmission route of EBV is mainly through oral contact, and blood transfusion and organ transplantation can also be transmitted (Figure 8)
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The population is generally susceptible to EBV, and its serological positive rate in the population can be as high as 90%
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EBV infection can occur in all seasons, and is more common from late autumn to early spring
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Its infection spreads all over the world, mostly sporadic, and there may be small-scale epidemics
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In developing countries such as China and Asia, the age of initial EBV infection is mainly infants and young children, while in developed countries it is mainly adolescents
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  Figure 8.
Conventional EBV infection route (Source: Care Online) The difficult-to-prevent and carcinogenic properties of EBV have put forward a rigid demand for vaccine protection.
At present, there is no EBV vaccine on the market globally, but pharmaceutical companies are already gearing up
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Moderna is the only company in the world that is in clinical development of EBV vaccine, and its research and development route is mRNA vaccine (Figure 9)
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Moderna's clinical trials are aimed at people in the 18-30 age group, but given so many people infected with EBV in childhood, the ultimate goal is to get the vaccine to infants
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Katherine Luzuriaga, Head of Clinical Trials for the EBV Vaccine at Moderna, said: "Few vaccines can induce complete immunity, however, an effective EBV vaccine may limit the spread of the virus, prevent abnormal immune responses, and reduce the virus at the onset of infection.
Load
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All of these factors may play a role in downstream disease pathogenesis, not only for MS, but also for related cancers caused by EBV
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” Figure 9 Moderna EBV vaccine clinical development (Source: Moderna official website) When constantly mutating The new coronavirus encounters EBV pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger, which is even worse for the suffering human beings.
I hope the arrival of the new crown vaccine and the EBV vaccine under development can escort our health
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 Source of the title map: MIMS, only for academic exchange
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Written | Text Competitive Typesetting | Luna End Reference: [1] Neves M, Marinho-Dias J, Ribeiro J, et al.
Epstein-Barr virus strains and variations: Geographic or disease-specific variants? J Med Virol.
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PMID: 27430663.
[2]Gold JE, Okyay RA, Licht WE, et al.
Investigation of Long COVID Prevalence and Its Relationship to Epstein-Barr Virus Reactivation.
Pathogens.
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PMID: 34204243; PMCID: PMC8233978.
[3]Bjornevik K, Cortese M, Healy BC, et al.
Longitudinal analysis reveals high prevalence of Epstein-Barr virus associated with multiple sclerosis.
Science.
2022 Jan 21;375(6578):296-301.
doi: 10.
1126/science.
abj8222.
Epub 2022 Jan 13.
PMID: 35025605.
[4] Su Y, Yuan D, Chen DG, et al.
Multiple early factors anticipate post-acute COVID-19 sequelae.
Cell.
2022 Mar 3;185(5):881-895.
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Epub 2022 Jan 25.
PMID: 35216672; PMCID: PMC8786632.
[5]https://slidesplayer.
com/slide/11263243/