ebv seroepidemiology in married and unmarried women and men in iran

background: among the eight known human herpes viruses, epstein- barr virus (ebv) is considered to be sexually transmissible. this study was conducted to evaluate the seroepidemiology of this infection in married and unmarried iranian couples. methods: in this comparative observational and cross-sectional study, 160 men and women were divided into married and unmarried groups. serum igg and igm antibodies to the ebv viral capsid antigen were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (elisas). results: in this study 78 men and 82 women were enrolled. ninety percent of the married and 76.2% of the unmarried women were anti-ebv igg positive (p = 0.08), while 80% of the married and 94% of the unmarried men were antiebv igg positive (p = 0.052). conclusion: seroepidemiology of ebv is not significantly different in married vs. unmarried women and men in iran; therefore, sexual contact may not be the primary mechanism of ebv transmission in iran and other developing countries. attention to other possible routes of transmission is recommended.