Systemic lupus erythematosus and Epstein-Barr virus

We determined the prevalence of antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in 44 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 44 healthy blood donors matched for sex and age as controls. Of the cases, 39 were women; mean age was 33 years. Four cases (9%) and 5 controls (11%) were positive for IgM anti-viral capsid antigen (VCA) (P = 0.9). All the cases were positive for IgG anti-VCA compared with 91% of the controls (P = 0.12). The mean immunity ratio for this antibody was 2.341 in cases and 1.873 in controls (P = 0.068). Forty (91%) cases were positive for IgG anti-EBNA1 (EB nuclear antigen1) compared with 42 (95%) controls (P = 0.6).