Mononucleosis

Mononucleosis is an acute infectious disease that is characterized by damage of reticuloendothelial and lymphatic systems and is carried out with fever, tonsillitis, polyadenitis, increasing of liver and spleen, leukocytosis of basophilic mononuclear.

The focus of infectious organism is human diseased with mononucleosis and virus carrier. Infection is transmitted via airborne, direct contact (for example, when kissing) and via saliva pollution of articles of daily use. The virus is detected in saliva at the end of incubation period of disease, height of it or in six months or more after recovery.

The recovery of virus is observed in 10-20% of cases who carried mononucleosis over in the past. Epstein-Bar virus in latent form can keep in bursal lymphocytes and in fauces mucous membrane epithelium.

Mononucleosis meets everywhere, people of different ages can disease with it. In developed countries the disease often meets among teenagers and young people, the peak of this virus disease incidence is 14-16-year old girls and 16-18-year old boys. In developing countries often disease junior age groups. Rarely this virus disease meets among people over 40 years because majority of people being in this age are immune namely to that infection. Children up to 2 years old as a rule are not diagnosed in connection with latent course. Mononucleosis is less contagiuos: usually are observed sporadic cases, sometimes are observed little epidemic outbreaks.

First days of disease are marked with increasing of size of liver and spleen that achieve maximum size after 4-10 days. Sometimes are observed dyspeptic condition and abdominal pains. 5-10% of the diseased people can have slight ochrodermia and scleral icterus. In some cases is observed the increment in activity of transaminase in the blood that tells about compromised liver function. In height of the virus disease or in the beginning of the recovery diseased people who take antibiotics often can have rash (spotty papular, urticarial, hemorrhagic). It often appears when taking drugs of penicillic family, especially ampicillin and oxacillin (in the blood often are detected antibodies resistant to these antibiotics).

The virus disease incidence lasts 2-4 weeks, sometimes even more. First, progressively disappears fever and fur on amygdalas then normalizes haemogramma, size of lymphatic glands, liver and spleen. In some cases in several days temperature reduces and rises again. The change of haemogramma can keep for several weeks and even months.

Mononucleosis Treatment

If course of the disease is slight and there is possible isolation, then patient can be treated at home. When the condition of the patient is grave then it is necessary hospitalizing into infectious disease ward. Doctor prescribes bed rest and comfort care. Antibiotics are taken in case of bacterial complications. In this case it must be taken into account that ampicillin and oxacillin are strongly contradicted for the patients diseased with Mononucleosis. For the patients with grave condition it is recommended glucocorticoid therapy.