Groundbreaking Epstein-Barr virus vaccine may prevent MS

Researchers have developed a groundbreaking vaccine that generates two types of immunity against the Epstein-Barr virus, a virus that almost all of us carry and which has been found to be a primary cause of diseases like multiple sclerosis and some cancers. After a landmark study published last year found that the risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS) increased 32-fold after infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), researchers from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute set about developing a vaccine against the virus. A member of the herpes family of viruses, EBV is carried by about 95% of the population. Most are infected during childhood, after which time the virus lays dormant. But infection in adolescence or early adulthood can cause infectious mononucleosis, “mono” or glandular fever, which is considered a major risk factor in developing EBV-related diseases, including MS. In addition, EBV has been associated with multiple types of lymphoma and nasopharyngeal (nose...