The increasing recognition of the importance of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections, including EBV-associated posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), in recipients of solid-organ transplantation has led to the evaluation of new strategies aimed at preventing and managing these syndromes. Current areas of investigation include the use of chemoprophylaxis (acyclovir or ganciclovir), immunoprophylaxis (intravenous immunoglobulin), and celluar therapy. Recent observations using polymerase chain reaction assays have demonstrated a relationship between EBV viral load in the peripheral blood and the presence of EBV-associated PTLD. The use of serial polymerase chain reaction measurements of EBV viral load as a guide to initiation of preemptive therapies against EBV disease potentially offers a novel strategy for management of EBV infections in organ transplant recipients.
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Green et al. (1998) studied this question.