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question on EBV test

Hi all

I am suspecting that I have ebv in a recent exposure 1month plus ago with fatigue, photophobia, dry mouth and dry cough that won't go away and I am now waiting for the test results.

The test that I did was EBV EA-IGA blood test.

Can I know the accuracy of this test and what does this test detects in the blood? Thanks very much!
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Glad to be of help!
mkh9
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Avatar universal
alright! thanks for the information and your time! with your help i successfully got a diagnosis for this.  i will do another screening for ebv soon for a peace of mind thanks very much for your help all this time!
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Well as I mentioned EA can be positive in 20% of people for early infection but it also remain positive in 20% of people for the rest of their lives.  I think IgA is very similar. There just isn't as much information about it. It isn't tested for that much.
mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi,

thanks for the information! am still quite worried about ebv as the first EA igA test returned quite a high value thou the igG and igM are both negative.
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1415174 tn?1453243103
See last post. Well, there are some exceptions. For example a tetanus shot or Hepatitus B vaccine antibodies will go down over time. You will keep the immunity to some degree but you may see that you are not immune on a test and have to get a booster shot. Same for some of the other vaccines. You will have partial immunity but the level of antibody may appear to lower and you may become what appear to be "non immune" so then you would want to boost yourself. Otherwise generally speaking your EBV IgG should be positive once exposed to the virus etc. We all memory cells to things we get exposed to so we have some defense against them if we encounter them again.
mkh9
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Well, you will always have IgG antibodies once you have developed them.
mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi,

ok thanks, i hope it's just mycoplasma not any other infections... i will be doing screening for EBV,CMV,HSV1&2,mycoplasma again in around a month's time. today is the 86th day post exposure ~ about week 12 post exposure
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Okay well then the Mycoplasma is probably recent. Maybe the post nasal drip is due to that. But it isn't typical. The body has weird ways of fighting things off.
mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi,

i got it around after 4 weeks post exposure. i got tested for ebv at week 6 post exposure AND cmv,mycoplasma after about 8 weeks post exposure.
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Except for the post nasal drip it sounds like Mycoplasma. Maybe some people get it. How long after exposure did you get your blood drawn?
mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi,

That's good to hear that patients can fully recover from mycoplasma. May i ask which infection can be transmitted via saliva and sexual contact and causes fatigue, photophobia, dry mouth, dry cough and post nasal drip? I'm worried about this post nasal drip as it has been more than 7 weeks and have not go away. Thanks!
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Well, usually you don't get post nasal drip with Mycoplasma. Yes you usually fully recover from Mycoplasma. But it takes a couple of months. But you had antibodies for past infection. But if you took the blood test a month or more after the initial infection you won't see IgM so that would make sense.  It depends on when you tested.
mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi, thanks for the explanation. i guess my post nasal drip should be related to my mycoplasma infection.... it's been 6 to 7 weeks since it started.. Can i ask if full recovery is possible for mycoplasma??
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Yes TB is tuberculosis but no it doesn't cause post nasal drip. Usually, you get night sweats, a lot of fatigue, productive cough eventually with a rusty sputum and low grade fever.  Maybe you are allergic to something that causes the post nasal drip. Post nasal drip can cause a sore throat as well.
mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi, i am not taking any medicine before this infection (mycoplasma). is TB tubercolosis? i didn't get tested for that. i've got night sweat if i cover my whole body including the head using a blanket at night in an air con room but im not feeling hot when i cover my whole body with that, just that when i woke up during midnight i will find myself sweating. if im sleeping in normal room temperature i dont have this issue.

Can tubercolosis cause post nasal drip? It has been quite long since i got this post nasal drip about 6-7 weeks now and im worried.
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Yes so you don't have current infection with Mycoplasma. The IgG will always be positive. Are you taking any meds that can cause the muscle weakness? I have been on two drugs that did that to me. One was a antidresant that was being used off label for something else. I was jogging 3 miles a day and after taking that antidepressant I couldn't run all of a sudden. And, then with a drug for osteoporosis I got muscle pain and had to stop it. So some drugs you have to watch out for even if they don't say on the package insert. But if not then yes some viruses can give you muscle weakness. It may be temporary or not. Also, some autoimmune diseases. It is something you may want to talk to a neurologist about or get tested for.  They have some tests for the muscles and nerves that you could possibly get.

Your first symptoms in the first post sound somewhat like TB. Have you ever been tested for that? The quantiferon gold test is good and doesn't cross react with the BCG vaccine if you had that. Although your chest Xray was normal. If it is early enough you may not have produced a nodule in the lung. Just a thought. You don't have night sweats right?  or night fevers? Hard to diagnose these types of things.

mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi mkh9,

yes its a serology test and igM was negative and igG was positive. Test was conducted 2months+ since possible exposure. Currently i still have minor post nasal drip for 6 weeks now, which started 4 weeks after possible exposure AND muscle weakness (maybe -> guillian barre syndrome).

Ok for the penis itching i will try a anti-fungal cream and see the results.

Thanks alot for your time
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Was the M. pneumoniae test a serology test? Was it IgM postive or IgG positive or both or what? Or was it a PCR test?  Azithromycin or Clarithormycin (Macrolides) are what the treatment of choice unless you are allegic to it. But often M. pneumoniae resolves on its own. It does take a couple of months if you have "walking pneumonia". It is a dry cough with low grade fever and sometimes a stabbing pain in the rib area when you breath in. So it is up to the doctor to decide whether your lungs sound bad enough to warrant antibiotics. Also, if it is only your IgG that is positive it would past infection. If you IgM is also positive then it would be current infection or the PCR. So those are the options.

As for the other problem, the penis itching has nothing to do with Mycoplasma. Most likely it is a fungus. You can try a anti-fungal spray or cream such as terbinafine (Lamisil) on it for a week or two. Follow the package insert. This is similar to "jock itch". It is cause by a different fungi than yeast.
mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi, sorry for the late reply as i'm overseas again and had just came back home and thanks for your time again.

My fever is about 37.2 degrees.

My candida antibody and CMV igM and CMV iGG came back negative.

You were right of my mycoplasma symptoms. The clinic just called me yesterday and my mycoplasma blood test antibody and titres came back positive. I guess i could have contracted mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Results is 1:160. For negative is < 1:40

Can i know what are the available antibiotics that i can take to recover for mycoplasma?


one more thing, whenever i get wet dreams my penis glands would itch like crazy is this associated with mycoplasma too? my candida AB came back negative.
Helpful - 0
1415174 tn?1453243103

These are general symptoms but I doubt you will be positive for CMV. You will probably have high igG for past infection negative IgM.

    Enlarged lymph nodes, especially in the neck.
    Fever.
    Fatigue.
    Loss of appetite.
    Malaise.
    Muscle aches.
    Rash.
    Sore throat.

I don't think it would cause a prolonged low grade fever. How low is the fever?

You can have a normal temperature of 99 in the afternoon. 100.5 or more is considered a fever in an adult. A primary fever would generally be higher for EBV and CMV.

mkh9
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Avatar universal
Hi mkh9,

Much Thanks for your time and reply. I'm now waiting for the screening results for M. Pneumonia and CMV. Actually i guess CMV is quite rare in my country and the symptoms are alike to EBV which is quite scary and worrying and it can infect someone easily by saliva. can i ask does CMV cause a prolonged low grade fever?
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1415174 tn?1453243103
Glad your EBV was negative.

As for Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Yes you can do a throat swab or sputum test for M. pneumoniae by PCR (more sensitive than serology) also the IgG and IgM will detect M. pneumoniae. It isn't as sensitive. The IgM comes up about the first month and goes away so you may not detect early infection by now. The IgG you would have to get paired sera so that you take one blood sample at the beginning of infection and another 4 weeks later to see  a 4 fold rise in titer. Otherwise, it just detects whether you were exposed to it some time in your life as the IgG antibodies stay with you all your life after several months. So the IgG can just detect past infection unless there is a rise in antibodies (4 times greater than the initial value).

CMV about 95-98% of adults have it by the time we are adults so it is not likely you got a new infection.

Tinnitus is very common. I get it off an on all the time. Mine is due to migraine most of the time. It can also be due to water in your ear, barometric pressure changes and a lot of other things.

Regards,
mkh9
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Avatar universal
to add on: today im on the 9th week after post exposure
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Avatar universal
Hi,

i have gotten back my results for ebv igm and igg both were negative. can i ask if mycoplasma ab igm and igg would be able to detect mycoplasma pneumonia? and is it be possible that i have caught the cytomegalovirus? suddenly i have got tinnitus a few days ago
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