| Summary: | Infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is more common in children and is transmitted through contact with saliva. The role of adults in the epidemic process has not been sufficiently studied.The goal is to study the role of children and adults with catarrhal phenomena in the spread of EBV during the seasonal epidemic rise in the incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI).Materials and methods. In the epidemic season of 201 9—2020, 226 people with catarrhal symptoms (140 adults and 86 children) were examined by PCR for the presence of EBV and other URTI pathogens in their nasal and oropharyngeal smears.Results. Significant differences in the frequency of detection of pathogens in children and adults have not been established. In both groups, EBV was detected as a single pathogen and in combination with other pathogens. The presence of a runny nose, sneezing and coughing is unusual for EBV, but occurs when EBV is combined with other URTI pathogens.Discussion. The presence of EBV in the nasopharynx and oropharynx in children and adults plays an important role in the spread of the pathogen. The combination of EBV with other pathogens that cause runny nose, sneezing, and coughing contributes to the formation of a more concentrated infectious aerosol and its spread over long distances.Conclusions. During the seasonal epidemic upsurge, children and adults are equally involved in URTI epidemic process and are sources of EBV infection with a frequency of 3 1.39 and 37.14 per 1 00 examined and an average concentration of the virus in smears of 31 199 and 33 074 copies/ ml, respectively. In children and adults, EBV was detected in combination with other U RTI pathogens with a frequency of 1 6.28 and 1 8.57 per 1 00 subjects, respectively. The presence of EBV in the upper respiratory tract, together with other pathogens, contributes to the active transmission of EBV during the seasonal epidemic rise of upper respiratory tract infections.
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