A vaccine to prevent infection with a common herpes virus, the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), could help prevent up to 200,000 new cancers worldwide per year, say Cancer Research UK experts to mark the 50th anniversary of EBV’s discovery, today (Monday).
Around 95 per cent of the global adult population are infected with EBV. Many people are infected in childhood and then carry the virus for life without it causing any harm. Others who become infected as teenagers may develop glandular fever, but most then recover without any long-term effects.
Yet the same virus has the potential to cause cancer and is linked to the development of several forms of the disease worldwide. Estimates show that EBV causes between 110,000 and 200,000 cancers each year worldwide*.