{"id":282279,"date":"2026-02-09T15:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282279\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T15:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T15:37:07","slug":"could-a-common-virus-have-lifelong-health-effects-uk-study-finds-new-links","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/282279\/","title":{"rendered":"Could a common virus have lifelong health effects? UK study finds new links"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openaccessgovernment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2189363357-scaled.jpg\" data-caption=\"image: \u00a9quantic69 | iStock\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"412\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2189363357-696x412.jpg\"   alt=\"Epstein-Barr DNA herpes virus infecting a B lymphocyte, electron micrograph. EBV, herpesvirus 4 cell, can cause infectious mononucleosis disease. Human health, virology science medical 3D illustration\" title=\"Epstein-Barr DNA herpes virus infecting a B lymphocyte\"\/><\/a>image: \u00a9quantic69 | iStock<br \/>\n            A UK Biobank study reveals that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)\u2014one of the world\u2019s most common viruses\u2014may be linked to lifelong health risks. These risks include chronic diseases and certain cancers, suggesting impacts far beyond what was once believed<br \/>\nNew research from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ukbiobank.ac.uk\/research-stories\/why-one-of-the-worlds-most-common-viruses-may-have-lifelong-consequences-for-you\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">UK Biobank<\/a> suggests that the Epstein\u2011Barr virus (EBV), which infects the majority of people worldwide, may have longer-term effects on health than previously thought. The study links EBV to an increased risk of chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.openaccessgovernment.org\/lupus-symptoms-ease-with-age-as-scientists-uncover-the-surprising-reason-why\/196421\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\"> lupus,<\/a> and some cancers, highlighting how a virus often considered harmless could influence wellbeing over a lifetime. These findings underscore the importance of further research and potential prevention strategies.<\/p>\n<p>Infectious disease specialist Alexander Mentzer from the University of Oxford, UK, comments, \u201cThe study highlights that infection has so much importance for public health\u2014not just for people when they\u2019re acutely unwell, but also from a long-term perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the Epstein-Barr virus<br \/>\nEpstein-Barr virus infects more than 90% of people, spreading mostly through saliva. Most people catch it during childhood, and because they never develop symptoms, they don\u2019t even know they\u2019ve had it. The virus often causes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openaccessgovernment.org\/glandular-fever-increases-the-risk-of-depression\/109535\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">glandular fever<\/a>, also known as mononucleosis (\u2018mono\u2019).<\/p>\n<p>Genetics and the risk of EBV-linked illness<\/p>\n<p>Analysis of DNA from almost 750,000 people has revealed 22 genes that may help explain why some individuals have persistent Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections. Those with these genetic differences are more likely to show high EBV levels in their blood. As a result, they also face increased risks of conditions such as Hodgkin lymphoma, lupus, heart disease, depression, kidney failure, and many other serious illnesses.<\/p>\n<p>Providing more detail, study co-leader Slav\u00e9 Petrovski from the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca explains: \u201cWe found that people with higher EBV levels are about 50% more likely to have rheumatoid arthritis and nearly twice as likely to have COPD compared to those with lower levels.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis really is quite an advance, which makes it really exciting,\u201d says Mentzer. The results are \u201cprobably telling us that EBV could be driving some of these diseases,\u201d he adds. But he cautions that other links between EBV and diseases might be coincidental. As Petrovski and his colleagues point out, the way that diseases alter the immune system can also raise EBV levels in the blood.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe definitely need to do more work before we really understand if EBV is truly causal in driving some of these diseases or if it\u2019s just a bystander,\u201d Mentzer explains.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"image: \u00a9quantic69 | iStock A UK Biobank study reveals that the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)\u2014one of the world\u2019s most&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282280,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[579,7177,163,85,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-282279","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dna","9":"tag-genetic-research","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}