‘Kissing Disease’ Virus May Increase Risk Of Multiple Sclerosis

(Bloomberg) -- A common virus linked to herpes may cause people to develop the debilitating disease multiple sclerosis, new research showed.

People with the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes infectious mononucleosis, have a 32-fold higher chance of developing multiple sclerosis, according to a study from the Harvard School of Public Health published Jan. 13 in Science. 

Though a link between Epstein-Barr and multiple sclerosis has been known for years, the study said the virus is likely a leading cause in most cases of the nervous-system disease that affected 2.8 million people in 2020.

Researchers compared samples from 955 young adults in the U.S. armed forces diagnosed with multiple sclerosis with 10 million military members.

“The value of this discovery is not an immediate medical cure or treatment, but it is a major step forward in understanding MS and sets up new research working out the precise details of how this virus can sometimes lead to an auto-immune disease,” said Daniel Davis, professor of immunology at the University of Manchester.

The Epstein-Barr virus is one of the most common in the world, touching almost all adults. However, not everyone develops infectious mononucleosis -- known as the ‘kissing disease’ -- and only a small fraction of those infected develop multiple sclerosis. That shows other issues are at play, such as genetics.

“An Epstein-Barr virus vaccine would seem like the obvious solution,” said Paul Farrell, professor of tumor virology at Imperial College London. “There is evidence that an Epstein-Barr virus vaccine can prevent” infectious mononucleosis, he said. 

Farrell added that it’s unclear if any of the vaccine types currently in development could prevent the long-term repercussions of the Epstein-Barr virus in multiple sclerosis.

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