In our lives, we come across varieties of different viruses. Some are fatal some are not. As science has progressed over the years, we came across many viruses with vaccination but not this time. A mild yet symptomatic virus was detected in the early ’90s. This virus is Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).
EBV Is The Reason For MS
Commonly known as human herpesvirus 4, it affects almost everyone and men don’t even notice it. It is associated with lymphoproliferative diseases, non-lymphoid malignancies, and human immunodeficiency virus.
It is also associated with childhood disorders and certain autoimmune diseases. It is also known as the kissing disease as it can be transmitted through the oral transfer of saliva, genital secretions, a blood transfusion, or an organ transplant.
One might commonly know it as mono, as it causes multiple sclerosis (MS). There are millions of nerves transmitting signals to and fro between the brain, spinal cord, and the human body. These nerves are covered by a myelin sheath which acts as a pathway for correct signal transmissions.
In MS, the immune system mistakenly attacks the healthy cells in the myelin, which damages the sheath. This damage disables the central nervous system to work efficiently. This means that the brain or the spinal cord cannot coordinate well with the rest of the human body. Simple explaining means that a person cannot comprehend with the command of the brain.
Symptoms of MS affected patients are as follows:
- Splenomegaly
- sore throat
- tiresome feeling
- Muscle stiffness
- Vision issues
Women are more prone to this than men and it mainly affects people aged 20 to 40 years. MS is not easily diagnosed. MS has widely spread in The US with numbers to be more than a million. To get a deeper understanding, researchers studied over 10 million US military personnel who understand the virus. This was conducted over a tenure of twenty years. Surprisingly, 995 militants developed MS, 10 years after their first sample was affected. In conclusion, it was found that EBV was present in almost all the cases of MS. Hence, there is a probability of a person suffering from EBV developing MS. Considering the link between EBV and MIS, one might call MS a byproduct of EBV.
As recognizing EBV is difficult in the early stage, the virus has affected such a large population around the globe. MS is a chronic inflammatory disease and has no definitive cure. It was noted that patients suffering from EBV did not develop MS, but this was not the case with MS. All patients diagnosed with MS were detected with EBV. A person suffering from EBV has the risk of developing MS almost 32 times higher than those people who do not suffer from EVB. It can either be inherited or be developed through additional environmental factors.
There is much to study and understand about the nature of EBV and its link in the development of MS. MS is not much a cause of concern as not many cases have been noted. As no proper treatment had been noted, scientists are working on its vaccination to at least control the spread. However, a vaccine to deal with this disease will act as a ray of hope. According to the reports, stopping the spread of EVB can act as a huge step by stopping the spread of EBV.
People suffering from this condition, generally lose command over their body, the body might feel weak and lose balance. Untreated and unmonitored patients can get prone to cancer. In order to treat it during the early stages proper diet, regular exercise, and limiting alcohol are a few measures. It is surprising that despite knowing about this virus for decades we do not have much information.
