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Infectious mononucleosis is an acute viral disease that is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.
The most common diseases are children in preschool and early school age, besides people between 15 and 30 years of age. The infection may be full-blown or may have no or no symptoms. The most common route of infection is contact with the saliva of the sick person, and the droplet route or blood transfusions are also mentioned.
The incubation period is about 20 to 50 days, and the preview period is up to two weeks. Then there are low-grade fever, malaise, muscle and joint pain or lack of appetite. The main symptoms are: fever around 38-40 ° C, acute pharyngitis with often severe pain with intense raids on the tonsils and significant enlargement of the lymph nodes. There may also be a runny nose. Additionally, there is often swelling of the eyelids, browbones and the bridge of the nose. The symptoms of mononucleosis should also include enlargement of the spleen, which occurs in about 50% of patients, and pain in the upper abdomen on the right side. An infection-induced rash, intensely pigmented rash or caused by the administration of the antibiotic amoxicillin may also be present in the course of the disease.
Complications of mononucleosis are rare. The most common are pneumonia, hepatitis and myocarditis. There are also cases of rupture of the spleen around the 2nd and 3rd week of the disease, which is manifested by sudden or slowly increasing abdominal pain. In addition, there are hematological and neurological complications. In some cases, the bloated almonds and enlarged lymph nodes in the throat area can make breathing difficult.
Treatment of infectious mononucleosis is only symptomatic. Recovery can take a long time and be complicated by chronic fatigue syndrome.
Text: lek. med. Roma Roemer-Ślimak