Mononucleosis is often referred to as "the kissing disease," and while it may be fun contracting the virus, it can cause weeks, even months, of being bedridden.
Beverly Kloeppel, interim director and physician at the Student Health Center, said the virus is common on college campuses. She also said it is an issue all college students should be concerned about because of the illness' duration, usually two to eight weeks, and the impacts it can have on students' academics.
"I think that's the main concern for students," Kloeppel said.
Mononucleosis is an infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, which is a member of the herpes family and is one of the most common viruses known in the world.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Infectious Diseases, as many as 95 percent of adults between the ages of 35 and 40 contract the virus.
Once infected, most cannot become sick with the illness a second time, Kloeppel said.
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Since the beginning of the fall semester, the Student Health Center has positively diagnosed 17 mononucleosis cases using a specialized blood-screening test to detect the virus' presence in the body.
Kloeppel said this is an average number of people on campus with the virus in recent years but it's still a significant number.
The virus' symptoms include fever, sore throat, swollen glands, aching muscles and fatigue. The virus is most common among people 15 to 35 years old.
According to the CDC's Web site, few medications can treat Mononucleosis. Bed rest is the best cure, Kloeppel said. Between 30 to 60 days, she said, is usually more than enough.
The virus is passed through respiratory secretions, or saliva and mucus. If infected, coughing or shaking hands with someone else can also pass the virus along.
UNM freshman James Gonzales said he was almost diagnosed with the virus because of symptoms he suffered when he contracted a serious cold.
"I was sick for like two weeks, so the doctors thought I had mono," Gonzales said. "But they did blood tests and found that I didn't."
Maria Goldstein, district health officer for the New Mexico Department of Health, said nearly 50 percent of the people diagnosed with mononucleosis have an enlarged spleen. This enlargement can cause the spleen to rupture and doctors recommend staying away from contact sports or rigorous workouts during and even weeks after a person is diagnosed.
Other rare complications include viral meningitis and encephalitis, inflammations in the tissues that cover the brain and spinal cord.
Goldstein recommends to anyone experiencing symptoms similar to that of mononucleosis to get tested. Although no medication can cure the virus, there are ways to treat the symptoms, she said.
