The frequency of Epstein-Barr virus infection and Burkitt's lymphoma at high and low altitudes in East Africa.

Burkitt's lymphomas (BL) is frequent in the tropical lowland of Africa but rare--even in the tropics--at altitudes higher than 5,000 feet above sea level. Serological surveys were carried out in Uganda and Tanzania to see whether the variation in BL incidence from high to low areas is paralleled by a variation in the extent of infection with the putative Epstein-Barr virus. Sera were collected from samples of the general child population living at high and low altitudes in the West Nile District in Uganda and in North Mara, Tanzania. All sera from these surveys were tested for anti-EBV antibodies to Viral Capsid Antigens (VCA) and to Early Antigens (EA) at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France. The results showed that both the prevalence and the strength of positive EBV (VCA and EA) titres are nearly similar in the lowlands and on the high plateux in East Africa. This lack of association between BL incidence and extent of EBV infection fails to support the notion of a causal role between the virus and the tumor, but does not totally exclude this possibility since some other environmental factor which is essential for BL development, may have a geographical distribution that parallels that of BL.