Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom, and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about infectious mononucleosis.

And if you want to follow along with written notes on this topic,

you can follow along at Zero to Finals.com slash infectious mononucleosis,

or in the Infectious Diseases section of of the zero to finals pediatrics book.

So let's get straight into it.

Infectious mononucleosis is a condition caused by infection with the Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV.

It's commonly known as the kissing disease, glandular fever, or simply mono.

This virus is found in the saliva of infected individuals.

Infection may be spread by kissing or sharing cups, toothbrushes or other equipment that

transmits saliva.

EBV is secreted in the saliva of infected individuals

and it can be infectious several weeks before the illness begins

and intermittently for the remainder of the patient's life.

Most people are infected with EBV as children

when it causes very few symptoms.

When infection occurs in teenagers or young adults, it can cause more severe symptoms.

It's the symptomatic infection with EBV that is called infectious mononucleosis.

The typical symptoms are fever, sore throats and fatigue.

A tom tip for you, look out for the question in your exams that describes an adolescent with a sore throat

who then develops an itchy rash after taking amoxicillin.

Infectious mononucleosis causes an intensely itchy macular papular rash in response to treatment with

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