The discovery of the Epson-Barr virus was a serendipitous one, initiated by Tony Epstein's work on a virus associated with cancer in chickens. Tony Epstein's attendance at a lecture by Dennis Burkitt in 1961, a surgeon who discovered a tumor in African youths, led to the conclusion that this might be an infectious agent. Years of collaboration between Epstein and Burkitt resulted in the observation of the virus in a sample from Africa in 1963, with the seminal paper being published in 1964.
On 28 March it’s the 60th anniversary of the discovery of Epstein-Barr virus, the most common viral infection in humans. The virus was first discovered in association with a rare type of cancer located in Africa, but is now understood to be implicated in 1% of cancers, as well as the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis, among others. Ian Sample meets Lawrence Young, professor of molecular oncology at Warwick Medical School, to hear the story of this virus, and how understanding it might help us prevent and treat cancer and other illnesses.. Help support our independent journalism at
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