Epstein–Barr Virus — Oncogen or Mitogen?

Abstract

The discovery in 1964 of a new type of herpesvirus in the neoplastic cells of a patient with Burkitt's lymphoma triggered an avalanche of research whose implications we are just beginning to appreciate. The virus, now known as the Epstein–Barr (EB) virus, was soon found not only in other cases of Burkitt's African lymphoma, but also in nasopharyngeal carcinoma in the Orient. Of equal importance was the demonstration that the EB virus causes infectious mononucleosis. As a result, research on this agent spread rapidly through Europe, Africa, Asia, and North America. Roizman's1 comment, "Not since the heyday of poliomyelitis research . . .