Is mononucleosis really a “kissing disease”?
The spread of EBV requires intimate contact with the saliva of an infected person. Kissing does not have to occur for infection to arise, however. Saliva on children’s toys, water bottles, toothbrushes, drinking glasses, and hands can also transmit the virus. Transmission of this virus through the air or blood does not normally occur. The incubation period, or the time from infection to appearance of symptoms, ranges from 4 to 6 weeks. People who have infectious mononucleosis may be able to spread the infection to others for a period of weeks. Many healthy people who have been previously infected can carry and spread the virus intermittently for life, and testing them for the virus is not practical. For these reasons, it is almost impossible to prevent spreading the virus, and nearly everyone will have had an EBV infection, but not mono, by the time that they are 40 years old.
