Of more than 10 million US service members, 955 have developed MS during their military service. For 801 of them, data on various virus infections were available from the admission examination, and in some cases also from follow-up examinations. Only one of the 801 patients was not infected with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). In comparison: In the general population, 5.3 percent of the samples are EBV-negative. This results in a 32-fold higher risk of MS in people following an EBV infection. This often occurred regarding five years following the first EBV detection. EBV is the causative agent of glandular fever. Although many people carry the virus for life, the disease breaks out only once – if at all.
It was striking that those who developed MS had very high levels of antibodies once morest EBV compared to people who were also EBV positive but did not develop MS. The researchers take this as an indication that EBV is a trigger for MS. So far, the most important risk factor has been a specific cellular trait that carries with it a threefold higher risk of MS for the carrier. “The data now support the finding that EBV is most likely a trigger of MS, although perhaps not the only one,” said Prof. Dr. Ralf Gold from Bochum.
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