- Formally:
- infectious mononucleosis or glandular fever
- Related Topics:
- Epstein-Barr virus
- viral disease
mononucleosis
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What is mononucleosis?
Mononucleosis, also known as glandular fever or "the kissing disease," is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). It is characterized by fever, sore throat, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.
The virus transmits through saliva exchange. While EBV infection in young children often presents no symptoms, it can cause mononucleosis in teenagers and young adults. Diagnosis involves blood tests for specific antibodies and atypical lymphocytes. Though there is no specific treatment, recovery usually occurs within weeks with rest and supportive care.
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What causes mononucleosis?
Mononucleosis, commonly called "the kissing disease," is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). It is characterized by fever, sore throat, and fatigue. EBV spreads through saliva. While infection in young children often shows no symptoms, it confers immunity. Mononucleosis typically affects individuals aged 10 to 35 who did not contract EBV in childhood. There is no specific treatment, and antibiotics are only useful for secondary bacterial infections. Diagnosis involves blood tests for changes in white blood cells and EBV antibodies.
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What are the main symptoms of mononucleosis?
Mononucleosis, caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), is typified by fever, general malaise, and sore throat. Though it can appear at any age, it predominantly affects individuals between 10 and 35 years old. Other common symptoms include fatigue, a thick white coating on the tonsils, and swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin. Swelling of the upper eyelids is also a common sign. Almost all patients show liver involvement, though severe liver disease is rare. In rare cases, the spleen may rupture. Some individuals may develop a rash or pneumonia.
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How does mononucleosis affect the body's cells?
Mononucleosis, caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), primarily affects specific cells in the body. EBV infects salivary gland cells and a special type of white blood cell called B lymphocytes.
Infectious mononucleosis is associated with unusually large lymphocytes (atypical lymphocytes). These cells represent part of the complex defense mechanism against the virus, and they disappear from the blood when the attack of infectious mononucleosis subsides. Within B lymphocytes, the virus growth cycle is incomplete, but the lymphocyte is permanently altered, potentially leading to excessive multiplication and, in rare cases, lymphatic system cancer. T cells attack B cells, causing a temporary deficiency in the production of new antibodies until the viral infection is overcome.
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How is mononucleosis diagnosed by doctors?
Mononucleosis diagnosis relies on identifying symptoms and specific markers in the blood. Common symptoms include fatigue, fever, and sore throat. Doctors also look for a thick white coating on the tonsils and swelling in the lymph nodes of the neck, armpits, and groin. Chemical tests can reveal liver involvement, and spleen enlargement occurs in most patients.
Definitive diagnosis comes from blood tests that detect changes in white blood cells and the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antibodies, or a heterophil antibody, in the serum.
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What happens in the body during the course of mononucleosis infection?
Mononucleosis, commonly called the "kissing disease," is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The virus infects salivary gland cells and a type of white blood cell called B lymphocytes.
Symptoms include fever, fatigue, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin. The throat is often red, and a thick white coating may appear on the tonsils. The liver is almost always affected, and the spleen is enlarged in about two-thirds of patients. In severe cases, the urine may contain blood.
There is no specific treatment for mononucleosis, but antibiotics can help with secondary bacterial infections. EBV can persist in B lymphocytes for life, potentially leading to excessive multiplication of these cells and increasing the risk of lymphatic system cancer.
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mononucleosis, infection in humans, caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), whose most common symptoms are fever, general malaise, and sore throat. The disease occurs predominantly in persons from 10 to 35 years old, but it is known to appear at any age. Infection of young children by the EBV usually causes little or no illness, although it does confer immunity against mononucleosis. A condition very similar to mononucleosis may be caused by the agents cytomegalovirus and Toxoplasma gondii.
EBV was first isolated from tumour cells of children with a form of cancer called Burkitt lymphoma. Later research showed that children can develop antibodies to this virus early in life, evidence that they have been infected with it, though without exhibiting any illness and certainly without any signs of tumour growth or of infectious mononucleosis. Mononucleosis thus seems to occur only in those who escaped EBV infection in childhood.
Mononucleosis is transmitted primarily by oral contact with exchange of saliva—hence its popular name, “the kissing disease.” The incubation period is thought to be about 30 to 40 days. The disease incapacitates individuals for varying periods of time; some affected people are physically fit for normal activities within two or three weeks, while others remain ill for as long as two months.
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The symptoms of mononucleosis vary in severity in different persons, but often they are mild. The most common symptoms are fatigue and sore throat. In some cases the only signs of the disease are fever and generalized discomfort; in these cases the diagnosis is made by study of the blood. The throat is often red, and there is usually a thick white coating, or membrane, on each tonsil. Swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin—for which the disease is sometimes called glandular fever—occurs in some people. Swelling of the upper eyelids is a common finding. In addition, involvement of the liver, as shown by chemical tests, is almost universally present, although severe disease of the liver with jaundice is rare. In about two-thirds of mononucleosis patients, the spleen is enlarged; death has occurred in rare cases from rupture of this organ. In severe cases the urine may contain blood.
There are a number of secondary infections and conditions that may arise in a person with mononucleosis. For example, some persons are affected by a rash consisting of multiple small hemorrhages or resembling that of measles or scarlet fever. Pneumonia is present in about 2 percent of the cases. Encephalitis, meningitis, or peripheral neuritis occurs uncommonly.
The blood serum of individuals with mononucleosis contains an antibody (referred to as a sheep cell or heterophil agglutinin) that is characteristic of the disease, but antibodies against EBV itself are more-specific markers of the infection. Thus, changes in the white blood cells and the detection of EBV antibodies in serum are used in the diagnosis of the disease.
There is no specific therapy. Antibiotics are of value only for the secondary bacterial infections (such as bacterial pneumonia) that occur in some cases.
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