Mononucleosis

Last week one of my students, a 4 1/2 year old boy, was diagnosed with Mono (Mononucleosis). Since small children are rarely infected, this being the first case I witness in my long career, I was rather unprepared to answer the questions of concerned parents.

I've used the Internet and the local Health department as my main sources for research and learned that Mono is caused by an infection with the Epstein-Barr virus, a virus in the herpes family of viruses. Once someone gets mono, the virus stays in that person's body for life. People who have mono can be contagious from the time they first become infected with the virus. That's because it takes a while from the time a person is infected to the time symptoms appear, about 4 to 7 weeks.

Mono needs to run its course naturally over about 2 to 4 weeks. Doctors and researchers are not sure how long someone with mono stays contagious after symptoms are gone. But it's generally believed that a person can spread the infection for many months after symptoms are completely gone.

*The symptoms of mono are high fever, swollen lymph notes, enlarged spleen, vomiting and generally lethargic.

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