If you want to test whether you already had EBV, then it would be a test for Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to the EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA). It shows whether the virus has established the latency in your body. Most laboratories would just label it as "EBV IgG", so just ask for that.
If you are in your 30 or older, then you most likely have had it already.
does this test for EBV in both latent and lytic phases?
EBV seems very adept at evading the immune system. does this also impact our ability to perform accurate detection (i.e., could current methods yield false negatives)?
EBV VCA IgG antibodies remain present for the rest of your life, as your immune system maintains certain antibody levels to keep the virus in check (it's a delicate host-virus balance).
EBV VCA IgM indicates a primary EBV infection and these antibodies remain for a few months, until seroconversion happens. They might not necessarily be present immediately. During the primary infection, the virus is in active lytic replication which can accurately be shown by an EBV PCR test.
Once the virus establishes latency, EBV PCR will be negative. It may occasionally become positive when EBV reactivates, but it may also reactivate in other compartments i.e. it infects more than just B-cells and the standard PCR test wouldn't show that. There are more antibodies involved and the whole thing is more complex than just the lytic and latent cycles.. the immune system is very complex.
thanks! this answers many questions already. a few more if you don't mind:
1. if VCA IgG antibodies persist for life, how does EBV reactivate?
2. when you say, "may also reactivate in other compartments," this implies that standard PCR tests only verify infection in b-cells? what tests verify infection/activity in epithelial cells?
3. are you on social media? would love to follow you.
This was a study conducted by the military on soldiers. They all contributed three blood samples over a period of time that were tested for a large number of conditions. EBV was the only one that contributed to MS.
There are at least two tests for it, or at least there were in the mid 1990s. One's a quick clinical test with lots of false negatives than can be done in-office but unless it's a campus healthcare clinic at a university they probably don't bother. The other is a more sensitive lab test that takes a few days. If you're having a really serious set of symptoms they may test to confirm it's not something else. If it's a minor case, two weeks of bedrest fix a lot of issues in a young adult and you do probably already have it anyway.
If you are in your 30 or older, then you most likely have had it already.