APA Dictionary of Psychology

a herpes virus that infects most people, at various ages. Infection during childhood is asymptomatic or produces mild symptoms; in adolescence or young adulthood, EBV leads to infectious mononucleosis in up to half of cases. EBV has been associated with certain cancers (e.g., Burkitt’s lymphoma), but its exact role in these diseases is not known. [Michael Anthony Epstein (1921–  ) and Yvonne M. Barr (1932–  ), British pathologists]