In RA patients (Fig 8A), the correlation between EBV DNA copy numbers and serum IL-17A levels indicated an R2 of 0.6138 and a Spearman’s Rho Coefficient of 0.732 (p<0.001) while the relationship between these two variables in the control group (Fig 8B) had an R2 of 0.0626 and a Spearman’s Rho Coefficient of 0.236 (p = 0.267). This evidence concerns the gene IL17A and rheumatoid arthritis.