How does EBV cause MS…I don’t know for sure but different people have different opinions. The virus infects B cells and then hides in them (LATENCY) and then reappears to destroy the the B cell and release the infective virus (LYTIC) phase of the life cycle
By Manuel Ruiz-Pablos, Bruno Paiva, Aintzane Zabaleta CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=149331540
Here is a review that is free to read. I am not saying I agree with these people but it gives you some ideas and there are alternative ideas of what is happening
Läderach F, Bremer E, Münz C. Latent, Lytic, and Linked to Multiple Sclerosis-How EBV Drives Autoimmunity. Eur J Immunol. 2026 Feb;56(2):e70153
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a human tumor virus best known for its B cell-transforming capacity and association with lymphomas and carcinomas. Epidemiological studies have suggested that its infection, in addition, is necessary for the development of the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS). The very same oncogenes that drive EBV-associated malignancies might also induce differentiation of B cell subsets that initiate neuroinflammation. This review will discuss how insufficient immune control might allow for sizeable populations of T-bet+CXCR3+ B cells to infiltrate the central nervous system (CNS), attract other lymphocytes, efficiently stimulate T cells in the CNS, and differentiate into antibody-producing plasma cells, thereby contributing to inflammation and autoantibody production in a subset of MS patients. This CNS-infiltrating B-cell population could be targeted by EBV-specific treatments to complement existing MS therapies.
Source: multiple-sclerosis-research.org