Systematic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative disease presenting as a persistent fever and cough: a case report

Systemic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative childhood disease is an extremely rare disorder and classically arises following primary acute or chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection. It is characterized by clonal proliferation of Epstein-Barr virus-infected T-cells with an activated cytotoxic phenotype. This disease has a rapid clinical course and is more frequent in Asia and South America, with relatively few cases being reported in Western countries. The clinical and pathological features of the disease overlap with other conditions including infectious mononucleosis, chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis and natural killer cell malignancies. We describe the rare case of systemic Epstein-Barr virus-positive T-cell lymphoproliferative childhood disease in a 16-year-old Malay boy.