Epstein-Barr Virus: Should We Still Invest in Vaccines or Focus on Predictive Tests?

Abstract

The complex interplay between host and EBV has made it difficult to elaborate useful vaccines protecting against EBV diseases. It is encouraging to see that EBV vaccine programs have started to incorporate different arms of the immune system. An array of argument calls for a realistic goal for vaccine strategies which should be preventing EBV diseases, rather than EBV infection. EBV is the primary cause of infectious mononucleosis and is associated with epithelial cell carcinomas, as well as lymphoid malignancies. Parallel to this need, one could propose priorities for future research: (i) identification of surrogate predictive markers for the development of EBV diseases (ii) determination of immune correlates of protection in animal models and humans.