Introduction: The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a gammaherpesvirus widely spread throughout the world. After primary infection, most often during childhood and adolescence, the virus remains latent in B cells and can be periodically reactivated, especially in patients with immunosuppression and immune deficiency. EBV is associated with infectious mononucleosis, however it is also pathogenetically associated with a number of malignancies, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).
Aim: With this study we want to analyze the incidence of EBV infections in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Materials and Methods: We analyzed 120 patients tested for the presence of anti-VCA IgM and anti-VCA IgG by ELISA in the period 2010-2016. Data is provided by the Virology Laboratory at St.Marina University Hospital in Varna.
Results:We found 7.5% anti-VCA IgM and 95.8% anti-VCA IgG positive results. When analyzing the results for the anti-VCA IgM, a higher proportion (12.5%) of positive results was shown in women compared to men (3.1%) (p>0.05).
Conclusion: Our study showed that there was a significantly higher proportion of EBV-infected patients with NHL than the average for the region (83.0%).
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