Patent ID: 7476498

Claim:
A new method for distinguishing between acute or recent EBV infection and old infection with EBV, comprising: reacting IgG antibodies of an individual with (a) the viral p18 antigen of the Epstein-Barr virus, and (b) a peptide which is derived from the viral p18 antigen of the Epstein-Barr virus, wherein said peptide is shortened at the N-terminus by 10 to 70 amino acids compared with the viral p18 antigen, or a fusion comprising the peptide and one or more further amino acids which do not correspond to the amino acid sequence of the viral p18 antigen, or a combination thereof; wherein strong binding to both (a) and (b) indicates old infection, and strong binding to (a) but not (b) indicates acute or recent EBV infection.