Leukocyte transforming agent (Epstein-Barr virus) in newborn infants and older individuals.

The lymphocyte transforming agent, associated with Epstein-Barr virus, was sought in the oropharynx and other clinical sites of 443 individuals in the following groups: premature and term neonates; infants with congenital malformations or with suspected TORCH syndrome; children with various illnesses; pregnant and postpartum women; healthy adults; and patients with infectious mononucleosis. Evidence of intrauterine infection was found in one newborn infant and LTA was demonstrated in a 16-day-old infant who developed transient hepatosplenomegaly. LTA was not detected in 96 other newborn infants and 57 infants with various anomalies or illnesses; nor was it found in the cervix of 125 pregnant or postpartum women. LTA was demonstrated in varying frequency in ill children, healthy adults, and those with infectious mononucleosis. It is suggested that the clinicoepidemiologic patterns of EBV infection in newborn infants and children will best be established by prospective studies.