EB-VIRUS ANTIBODIES I N POST-TRANSFUSION MONO- NUCLEOSIS A N D CARDIOPULMONARY BYPASS

Hewlett, 1958), there have been many studies of a febrile haematological syndrome, known as post-transfusion mononucleosis or PTM, occurring after blood transfusion and resembling infectious mononucleosis. Clinical findings include fever, atypical lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, and spleno-megaly, and, less frequently, hepatomegaly, abnormal liver function tests, rash, pharyngitis, lymphadenopathy, lymphocytosis, neutropenia and eosinophilia. The syndrome has been seen most commonly after the massive blood exchanges necessary in open-heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass. The incidence in different series varies from 3 to 67 per cent., depending on the definition used; the higher incidences are reported when atypical lympho-cytes and fever are used as the sole criteria for diagnosis and when frequent haematological examinations are made. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been implicated as the agent respon-sible for the majority of cases, possibly transmitted with the transfused blood (Lancet, 1969). The herpes-type or Epstein-Barr virus (HTV, EBV), a newer member of the herpesvirus group, was first detected (Epstein, Achong and Barr, 1964) in a culture of Burkitt lymphoma cells. This virus may be responsible for the classical (heterophile-antibody-positive) variet