National MS Society. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a type of herpes virus, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Most people become infected with EBV at some point in their lives, many in childhood, the CDC said. However, most of those who are infected experience no negative symptoms from the virus. "After you get an EBV infection, the virus becomes latent (inactive) in your body.
In some cases, the virus may reactivate. This does not always cause symptoms, but people with weakened immune systems are more likely to develop symptoms if EBV reactivates," according to the CDC.
Dr. Alberto Ascherio, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard Chan School and senior author of the study, said over 10 million active U.S.