When I was in high school, my best friend got "mono" and I thought it was because we lived close to Mono Lake, Calif. Then I found out that it can be spread through kissing, which of course horrified me since I was just figuring out how to kiss.
But no, mono, is a disease you can catch anywhere in the world, in many different ways, not just kissing, and it has nothing to do with Mono Lake, Calif.
Mononucleosis Defined: Mononucleosis is an infection caused by a common herpes virus called the Epstein-Barr Virus, or EBV. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that about 95 percent of adults between 35 and 40 years old have been infected with EBV at some point.
Usually people become infected as small children and do not get very sick, but if they are not exposed until teenagers or young adults, the mono symptoms can be more severe. Mono is a typical infection among college students and active military personnel. It very rarely causes death.
Symptoms: The symptoms appear four to six weeks after exposure to the virus and last at least a week:
- Fever
- Sore throat
- Swollen lymph glands
- Sometimes a swollen spleen or problems with the liver may occur
- Rarely there are heart or central nervous system problems.
Diagnosis: Usually mononucleosis is diagnosed by:
- Reviewing the symptoms of the patient.
- Knowing the age of the patient.
- The appearance of an elevated number of white blood cells, and in particular, a special kind of white blood cell.
- Occasionally blood levels of antibodies against EBV are measured, but they are expensive and not always required.
- A positive “mono spot” laboratory test.
Teenagers and young adults are more likely to have a severe mononucleosis infection than adults or small children.
Treatment: No drugs are usually given for mononucleosis, so a doctor is not likely to prescribe antiviral drugs or antibiotics. Some doctors will give a five-day course of steroids to decrease the swelling of lymph glands and tonsils, but it’s not clear whether steroids clear up a mono infection faster.
Infection with mononucleosis often causes the spleen to become temporarily bigger, so an infected person should not play high-impact sports for three to four weeks after symptoms of mononucleosis go away.
After Infection: A person infected with mono usually gets better after one or two months, but some people become carriers of mono for life.
The person infected with mononucleosis can spread the virus to others for a couple of weeks, mostly by close contact with saliva and not through the air or blood. In the case of people who are carriers, they may spread the virus through saliva for the rest of their lives.
How Long Illness Lasts: Mononucleosis rarely lasts more than four months according to the CDC, and infections lasting more than six months are unheard of, although there are people who claim to be suffering from chronic EBV. In these cases, EBV has not been shown to be the cause of illness, and the CDC suggests these illnesses should be investigated for other chronic illnesses or chronic fatigue syndrome if no other disease can be detected.
Prevention: Mononucleosis is in the saliva of healthy people as well as infected individuals, so it is impossible to prevent it unless you decide to stay away from saliva for the rest of your life. Saliva is not only spread by kissing, but by sharing food or drink with a person who has the virus in the saliva...and that could be anyone.
Risk of Long-Term Infection: Other than what is already stated above, long-term infection with the Epstein Barr virus seems to play a role in the development of two kinds of rare cancer called Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal cancer. These cancers are very rarely found in the United States and the EBV is only one possible player in the cause of these cancers.
For more information about mono in children check out About.com´s guide to pediatrics mono information.
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