In October, 2020, I wrote a post naming various diseases that were likely linked to the Epstein-Barr virus. The diseases include a variety of cancers, long Covid, and autoimmune diseases, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and M.S. (multiple sclerosis). More than 90 percent of us have the Epstein-Barr virus—one that we usually acquire in childhood. It’s passed from person to person through saliva. Most of us never realize we have it. Once you have it, you have it forever. If you’ve had mononucleosis, you have the virus.
Because so many of us have the virus, it’s been difficult to positively prove the association between the virus and M.S.—a disease in which the immune system destroys the protective sheath (myelin) that coats nerve fibers. In the U.S., one of every 330 people develop M.S., usually between age 20 and 50. Ordinarily, to prove the association between Epstein-Barr and M.S., you’d have to follow a huge group of people over decades, comparing those who contract the virus and develop M.S. with those who don’t.
Recently, some scientists figured out an easier way to prove the association: they looked at the health records of military personnel between 1993 and 2013, identifying cases of M.S. among this group. They found that, of 801 soldiers with M.S., 800 were positive for Epstein-Barr. As one of the scientists remarked, “In practical terms, if you’re not infected with E.B.V., your risk of M.S. is virtually zero.”
Scientists are careful label the virus a “necessary precondition”
for M.S., rather than the cause. As to why more of us don’t have the disease,
they assume other factors come into play, including genetic susceptibility. Now
that the link between Epstein-Barr and M.S. has been proven, a vaccine will
soon be on the way.
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