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Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is ubiquitous, and most of the world's adults have been infected, the symptomatic primary infection we call infectious mononucleosis is much rarer. A great deal of evidence links some of the complications of EBV infection, such as Hodgkin lymphoma and multiple sclerosis, to genetic vulnerabilities; Danish researchers sought to determine if the same holds true for mononucleosis.
Because Denmark has comprehensive population and health registries, researchers were able to identify all children and adolescents (age, ≤18) who were hospitalized for mononucleosis between 1977 and 2011. They then assessed risk for similar disease in close and distant relatives. To limit the effect of contagion between family members…