What is Chronic Mononucleosis?
Chronic mono is a condition characterized by a serious illness that occurs for a period of time greater than six months from the time when infectious mononucleosis is initially diagnosed. Mononucleosis symptoms include fever, swelling of the lymph nodes, exhaustion and a lingering sore throat. Sometimes referred to as chronic active EBV infection, recurrent mono is extremely rare. In fact, in the United States alone, up to 95% of adults are exposed to the Epstein-Barr Virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the majority of these individuals do not exhibit any symptoms, meaning that the disease is latent or dormant in these individuals. Only very infrequently does infectious mononucleosis develop into chronic mononucleosis.
