Mononucleosis has a long incubation period of four to seven weeks, with a short latency period of a few days. Infected individuals can be contagious before symptoms appear or if they never develop symptoms. Adolescents and young adults may experience symptoms of fatigue, fever, and loss of appetite for two to three weeks. Bed rest is advised if symptoms arise after the incubation period to prevent serious side effects.
The incubation period for mononucleosis is four to seven weeks. Some minor complications arise from this long incubation period. One is that the latency period, the period between initial infection and the ability to infect others, is much shorter than the incubation period for mononucleosis; an individual with mono can infect many other people before symptoms appear. The same result occurs if an individual with mononucleosis never develops symptoms.
When an individual turns 18, there is a 90% chance that they have been exposed to the Epstein-Barr virus, the agent that causes mononucleosis. Most people experience the virus as children and usually have no symptoms. For adolescents and young adults, symptoms of fatigue, fever, and loss of appetite occur for about two to three weeks after the incubation period of mono. In these cases, symptoms force infected people to abstain from school or work for a period of time. While limiting contact with others during this period reduces the chance of further infection, the nature of the earlier incubation period makes an individual extremely contagious.
Within the incubation period of mononucleosis there is an extremely short latency period, lasting only a few days. Thereafter, an individual is extremely contagious up to a few weeks after mononucleosis symptoms have ceased. Thus, for most of the incubation period, there is a high probability that an infected individual will infect others. Although mononucleosis is known as the “kissing disease,” its transfer through saliva allows you to infect others by other means. For example, close proximity of students to a school gives rise to many occasions where accidental infection can occur.
Among all cases of mononucleosis, there is a small percentage of individuals who never develop symptoms. While they themselves are never adversely affected, these individuals are still extremely contagious to others. In fact, because they never have to stay home due to illness, they are more likely to infect than if they have become ill. Since it may be impossible to tell who has the virus, remembering to wash your hands and not sharing cups are two ways to prevent contagion.
In case of infection, bed rest is advised if symptoms arise after the mononucleosis incubation period. Limiting activity reduces the chances of serious side effects: jaundice, hepatitis, splenic rupture and meningitis. Over-the-counter pain relievers can help relieve muscle aches associated with the condition.
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