Scientists have recently published findings of a study that show that the Epstein-Barr virus is one of the main causes of Multiple Sclerosis. Alberto Ascherio, an epidemiology professor from Harvard University, shared the findings that he and his team have discovered in their lengthy study.
Epstein-Barr virus is one of the most common viruses a human can get infected with. In fact, according to science.org, around 90 to 95 percent of people have been infected with the Epstein-Barr virus at some point in their life. The virus most commonly causes mononucleosis, which is most commonly known as the kissing disease.
Ascherio and his team started observing about 10 million soldiers in 2000. From their observations, his team discovered that after getting infected with Epstein-Barr virus, the risk of getting Multiple Sclerosis increases by 32 times. According to Ascherio, Multiple Sclerosis is a complication of the kissing disease, albeit a rarer one.
He further explains that although a great percent of the population gets infected with the kissing disease, while only a small percent gets diagnosed with MS, Epstein-Barr virus still causes MS. Just like how any virus can cause a different, rarer, long-term illness, Epstein-Barr virus causes MS.
While Ascherio still says that many other factors, such as genetics and the environment, can still have a hand in a person being diagnosed with MS, he and his team have managed to figure out that kissing diseases cause MS. While there is still much more research to be done and many more questions still left to answer to fully understand the link between Epstein-Barrs virus and Multiple Sclerosis, the findings from this study is a start.
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