Patent ID: 7326535

Claim:
A method for detecting antibody to a polypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence of formula: (φ)n wherein n is 1 to about 1000 and φ is 25 amino acids or less and has the formula: (α ETFTETWNRFITHTE β) n (SEQ. ID NO:1) (α GMLEASEGLDGWIHQ β) n (SEQ. ID NO:2) (α HQQGGWSTLIEDNIP β) n (SEQ. ID NO:3) or (α KQKHPKKVKQAFNPL β) n (SEQ. ID NO:4) wherein α and β are independently from 0 to about 5 naturally occurring amino acids, wherein the polypeptide is capable of binding antibody in a specimen from an individual with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated disease, which comprises contacting a specimen with the polypeptide and determining whether antibody binds to the peptide.