The Effects of Acute Malaria on Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) Load and EBV-Specific T Cell Immunity in Gambian Children

Abstract

Acute malaria is associated with sustained increase in EBV load and, possibly, a transient decrease in EBV-specific T cell surveillance. We infer that the unusually high set point of virus carriage in P. falciparum-challenged populations, allied with the parasite's capacity to act as a chronic B cell stimulus, probably contributes to the pathogenesis of endemic BL.