Mononucleosis: how much time is infectious and how to limit virus transmission?

The symptoms of mononucleosis

Also called kissing disease, mononucleosis is a viral disease whose symptoms are multiple. The disease often goes unnoticed in children but in adults and adolescents, the signs are more important.

First is a incubation phase four to seven weeks without symptoms. Then a moderate fever and difficulties with the effort gradually settle in one to two weeks. Subsequently, the symptoms of mononucleosis appear. Among them :

How long is it contagious?

The infectious mononucleosis virus, called the Epstein-Barr virus, is transmitted primarily through direct contact between people, that is to say by the kiss, but also by saliva, with some coughing projections, for example. If most patients recover in three to five weeks, they can be infectious for much longer.

Indeed, the contagion is maximum during the "acute" phase of the disease, when the patient has fever. But when it disappears, "the virus is always present in saliva in small amounts, for up to six months" can be read on the website of Health Insurance, Ameli. Its transmission then remains possible. When the patient is cured, the virus remains in its lymph nodes without causing recurrence.

How to limit the transmission of the virus?

To prevent transmission of the virus, some simple gestures are advised to patients with mononucleosis:

• Avoid kissing loved ones
• Wash your hands very regularly with liquid soap for 30 seconds
• Avoid facial medical procedures such as dental care
• Cover your mouth and nose after coughing or sneezing with a disposable tissue or the bend of your elbow
• Do not share glass, cutlery or toothbrush with loved ones
• Ventilate your home at least once a day

To know: most of the time, the first contact with the virus takes place from the youngest age. But the symptoms of the disease are less marked in children, who are then affected by angina and a feverish state. Thus, the virus goes unnoticed, and the body develops antibodies. Some people may be immunized against mononucleosis without ever having declared the disease. This explains why almost all adults (90%) have already been in contact with the virus.

Source: Health Insurance

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