Prevalence of cytomegalovirus and Epstein Barr virus in patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and childhood systemic lupus erythematosus

The aim of this study was to investigate the possible role of cytomegalovirus [CMV] and Epstein-Barr virus [EBV] infections in the pathogenesis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [JRA] and childhood systemic lupus erythematosus [SLE]. The study included 31 JRA patients, 29 childhood onset SLE patients and 21 age and sex matched healthy controls. It was concluded that the prevalence of CMV and EBV is high in pediatric patients with JRA and SLE. These findings supported the hypothesis that these viral infections may be involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune rheumatic diseases of childhood