Alissa Eichinger thought she was just feeling tired. The second-year College student had been working harder than usual when she began to experience a sore throat and swollen tonsils. After a series of tests, she discovered she did not have a cold, or even the flu. She had mono.
Mononucleosis, commonly referred to as mono or "the kissing disease," is caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus, a member of the herpes family of viruses. The illness can be transmitted most commonly through saliva, hence its nickname.
People also can contract the virus from an infected person by eating from the same plate or drinking from the same glass. But, the virus cannot be passed simply by breathing the same air as an infected person.
In fact, a mono patient's roommate is "no more likely to develop it than the general college population, which suggests that it is no more contagious to be breathing the same air or sneezing," said William Petri, professor of medicine in University Hospital's Division of Infectious Diseases.
Avoiding mono
So how can students avoid contracting mono? Factors that determine a potential illness vary because individual habits play an important role. Doctors recommend plenty of rest and a regular, healthy diet to reduce the chances of contracting mono. Nevertheless, students should be aware of the extent of contact between themselves and a mono victim.
"Fairly casual relationships" do not normally put a person at risk, said Charles Cole, assistant professor of clinical family medicine at the Medical School. Mono contraction is "usually from far more intimate contact, so we tend to see it in young people more."
Contrary to popular belief that the virus is rare, EBV actually "is circulating to some degree all the time," said Colin Ramirez, a staff physician at the Elson Center for Student Health. "Two-thirds of the incoming first years will have the antibodies that come from diseases they contracted as a child, so they have built up an immunity."
If the immune system has not developed the necessary antibodies, the chances of catching mono are greater. Once someone contracts the virus, mono-like symptoms may or may not manifest themselves immediately.
"Anywhere from 10 to 20 percent of healthy adults [have] the virus in their throat washings," Petri said. "Not everyone with the infection has symptoms."
Symptoms
Like any other disease, mono has its share of nasty symptoms including extreme fatigue, sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes and an enlarged spleen. In extreme cases, mono patients may experience mild hepatitis, nausea, jaundice, low blood counts and infection of the brain and spinal cord.
|
If the spleen enlarges so much that it ruptures, the result can be deadly, Cole said. "It is important for athletes especially [not to] play contact sports like football until the spleen is back to normal," Cole said.
But, more commonly, patients will have either a mild strain of mono - which can plague them only for a week - or contract the full-blown version of mono, which can cause them to be bedridden from six to eight weeks.
For some students, additional bed rest initially might sound tempting.
"When I was in high school, I always really wanted mono because you got to take a month off school and just go to sleep and watch T.V.," joked Erin Crowe, a second-year College student who suffered from mono early this semester. But if you contract mono while in college, "you can't do anything about it. You have to take care of yourself and you get no extra benefits."
Dealing with mono's effects
If the body contracts mono, there are several ways to minimize the disease's effects. Situations vary from case to case, so students should "decide for themselves what level of activity they can pursue," Ramirez said. "The people that find themselves in trouble are the ones that push themselves too hard."
Also, people should be cautious about engaging in certain activities that might harm the immune system. Students should avoid alcohol, according to Ramirez, because mono can cause patients' livers to be more sensitive and inflamed.
Technically EBV only can be contracted once, but there are several other viruses that produce similar symptoms, Ramirez said.
Still, EBV permanently resides in the body once it enters - meaning it could flare up more than once.
Continuing education student Stephanie Timmons, who has contracted mono-like symptoms four times, said she cut down on her activities to let her body recover.
"I pretty much shut my body down," Timmons said.
Read More
Student Council passes appointment bill, approves new CIOs at final meeting of semester
By Arshiya Pant | 17 hours agoMendoza Gonzalez also said she will be meeting with Kenyon R. Bonner, vice president and chief student affairs officer, to discuss further strategies for the Student Council Endowment Fund.
Professors speak about leading productive dialogue on Israel-Hamas war
By Lexie Stadler | YesterdayThe event was hosted by the University’s Task Force on Religious Diversity and Belonging, which is designed to ensure that the University is welcoming to community members from all religions and cultures.
Honor Committee considers formal ban of AI detectors as evidence in trials
By Lexie Stadler | 2 days agoThe Committee also addressed balancing student perspectives with those of Committee representatives during panel discussions.
