Mononucleosis or kissing disease is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. Anitta recently revealed the diagnosis. Understand.
The so-called mononucleosis, or as it is popularly known kissing diseaseis a disease caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, commonly transmitted through saliva.
However, despite being known as kissing disease, mononucleosis can also be transmitted through objects shared with an infected person, and not exclusively through kissing. Furthermore, in most cases, mononucleosis is asymptomatic. But, when not, it may present symptoms such as fever, swelling in the neck, sore throat and skin irritation. Furthermore, the virus can lead to other, more serious illnesses.
Recently, singer Anitta shared that she was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes kissing disease. The singer said that this was the most difficult moment of her life, when she was diagnosed with the infection. The revelation of the diagnosis of the disease generated a lot of repercussion and below we will understand better what mononucleosis is.
What is kissing disease and its causes?
Infectious mononucleosis, the name for kissing disease, is a disease caused by a specific virus, called Epstein-Barr, which is transmitted through saliva. So, yes, it can be transmitted through kissing an infected person, but also through objects such as cutlery, toothbrushes, glasses and others that come into contact with infected saliva.
Therefore, mononucleosis is relatively common, being frequent in more populated cities, and especially during festive seasons, such as Carnival, for example. Furthermore, it is more common to affect people between the ages of 15 and 25 years old.
According to infectious disease specialist Mirian Dal Ben, for G1: “Infectious mononucleosis is the most common presentation of Epstein-Barr virus infection. Most people get it when they are still children and the manifestations are much calmer. When the person gets it in adulthood, the symptoms are more pronounced.”.
Symptoms
As previously stated, in most cases, infection with the virus occurs asymptomatically. In fact, this considerably increases the number of people affected, as people can transmit the disease without even knowing that they have the virus.
However, in cases where there are symptoms, they can easily be confused with other common illnesses. The main symptoms of mononucleosis include:
- high fever;
- pain when swallowing;
- cough;
- joint pain;
- swelling in the neck;
- skin irritation;
- tonsillitis;
- fatigue;
- Swelling of the liver.
Diagnosis of kissing disease
So, because these are quite common symptoms that are similar to other diseases, mononucleosis can easily be overlooked and taken for something else. Therefore, the ideal is to confirm the diagnosis. To do this, it is necessary to carry out some tests, such as serological tests, to confirm or not the presence of the virus in the body.
Furthermore, early diagnosis is essential to prevent symptoms from evolving into more serious conditions, even if this is rare. Therefore, the sooner you discover the disease the better, as in the early stages it is possible to monitor it more effectively.
In the case of singer Anitta, she revealed the diagnosis of the disease at the beginning of December, during the launch party for the documentary Eu, by Ludmila Dayer. She said that she received the diagnosis about two months ago, and that this moment was by far the most difficult phase of her life.
In fact, on December 1st, Anitta had to be hospitalized in São Paulo, the reason for her hospitalization was not revealed. But because of the hospitalization, the singer had to cancel the performance she would do on the same day at Farofa da Gkay.
Treatment
Generally, at least for most infected people, the disease clears up in about weeks. However, there are a portion of people with the disease who take longer to heal. It takes around months for a person to fully recover their energy, suffering from a longer state of fatigue.
Therefore, there is no official treatment for mononucleosis. There are some medications such as corticosteroids that can help in the most serious cases, with complications such as airway obstruction, reduced platelets and high levels of bleeding.
Possible complications of kissing disease
As Mirian Dal Ben explained to G1, the Epstein-Barr virus can also cause other diseases in addition to mononucleosis. “Throughout life, if there is an imbalance in our immune system’s control of the virus, which can happen for a variety of reasons, this can cause the mononucleosis virus to give rise to other diseases. So some types of lymphoma, some types of Hodgkin lymphoma, can be caused.”
But in addition, there is a long investigation into a possible link between this virus and multiple sclerosis, which affects Ludmila Dayer, responsible for the documentary Me. According to Ludmila, her illness was caused by the virus. In fact, Anitta also revealed that living with the actress was very important for her to receive an early diagnosis of the disease.
Recently, a study from Harvard University resulted in stronger evidence between the virus and sclerosis, but there is still no confirmation. In fact, the study carried out with more than 10 million people revealed that almost all cases of sclerosis occurred after an infection with the Epstein-Barr virus.
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Bibliography:
Sources: JC G1 Correio Braziliense Istoé R7 Tua Saúde
