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.
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.