Infectious mononucleosis

[Marquetta]

Epstein-Barr virus causes a number of diseases, including infectious mononucleosis.

The virus is spread through kissing.
Symptoms vary, but the most common are extreme fatigue, fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes.
A blood test is done to confirm the diagnosis.
Acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can relieve fever and pain.

Infection with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is very common. EBV is a type of herpesvirus called herpesvirus 4. In the United States, about 50% of all children 5 years of age and nearly 95% of adults have had an EBV infection.
Most EBV infections cause no symptoms. Infectious mononucleosis typically develops in adolescents and young adults who are infected with EBV. Infectious mononucleosis is named for the large numbers of white blood cells (mononuclear cells) in the bloodstream. Adolescents and young adults usually catch infectious mononucleosis by kissing someone infected with EBV.
After the initial infection, EBV, like other herpesviruses, remains in the body, mainly in white blood cells, for life. Infected people shed the virus periodically in their saliva. They can infect others during shedding, which causes no symptoms.
Rarely, EBV contributes to the development of several types of cancer, such as Burkitt lymphoma and certain cancers of the nose and throat (nasopharyngeal cancer). It is thought that specific viral genes alter the growth cycle of infected cells and cause them to become cancerous. EBV does not cause chronic fatigue syndrome, as was once suspected.

[Dorothey Allen]

Infectious mononucleosis is caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus type 4) and is characterized by fatigue, fever, pharyngitis, and lymphadenopathy. Fatigue may persist weeks or months. Severe complications, including airway obstruction, splenic rupture, and neurologic syndromes, occasionally occur. Diagnosis is clinical or with EBV serologic testing. Treatment is supportive.
EBV is a herpesvirus that infects 50% of children before age 5. Over 90% of adults are seropositive for EBV. Its host is humans.
EBV infection is usually asymptomatic.
(See Overview of Herpesvirus Infections.)