The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) was discovered 36 years ago by electron microscopy of cells cultured from Burkitt's lymphoma tissue by Epstein, Achong, and Barr.¹ Four years later, in 1968, EBV was shown to be the etiologic agent of heterophile-positive infectious mononucleosis.² EBV DNA was detected in tissues from patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma in 1970.³ In the 1980s, EBV was found to be associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and oral hairy leukoplakia in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).⁴,⁵ Since then, EBV DNA has been found in tissues from other cancers, including T-cell lymphomas and Hodgkin's disease.⁶,⁷

EBV is . . .