ACUTE PRIMARY EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION IN 8-MONTH-OLD CHILD: CASE REPORT

Abstract

This article highlights the difficulties in diagnosis and features of the course of acute primary Epstein-Barr virus infection in an infant. A clinical case of an 8-month-old child with this disease is presented. Primary infection with the Epstein-Barr virus in young children is often characterized by a subclinical course or may be asymptomatic. Peculiarities of acute primary Epstein-Barr virus infection in the child are manifested by purulent-necrotic angina, secondary thrombocytopenia, anaemia of the 1st degree (with minimal changes on the part of the lymph nodes, the absence of hepatosplenomegaly) under the dysfunction of the immune system (age-related immunodeficiency condition). The latter cause and the failure to obtain specific maternal antibodies with breast milk (the child is kept on artificial feeding) have resulted in the severe course of this disease. Immature adaptation mechanisms of the mucous membranes of children lead to the phenomena of dysbiosis in the form of an imbalance of different degrees of severity of the disease. The final diagnosis of the child is based on the isolation of Epstein-Barr virus DNA in the blood serum during the polymerase chain reaction. The child requires dynamic monitoring from a paediatrician and cardiologist that enables to select effective measures to manage the disease and to assess physical development.