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Illnesses

Mononucleosis

Mononucleosis
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.53

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    aspirin, constipation, herpes, lip-gloss, lymph, mono, mononucleosis, sinus, spleen, antibiotic, mucus, frequently, prescribe, classic, strep, diagnosis

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Mononucleosis
By Jennifer Kenny 		  
1     Did you ever hear of the "kissing disease"? Did you think someone just made that name up? Well, there is actually a real illness nicknamed the "kissing disease." It's called mononucleosis.
 
2     Mononucleosis is an infection that is often called mono for short. It is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. (The Epstein-Barr virus is a kind of herpes virus. Other herpes viruses cause cold sores and chickenpox.) It is contagious.
 
3     Now there's the frequently asked question. Why is mono called the "kissing disease"? That's because the infection is spread through person-to-person contact. That, of course, includes kissing. You can also catch it by drinking from an infected person's glass or eating from a portion of food an infected person has already eaten. Sharing pillows, straws, lip-gloss, or toothbrushes can cause the infection to spread as well. Being next to someone who is infected and coughs without covering his or her mouth can do the same. The bottom line is that it spreads by contact with saliva or mucus from the infected individual.

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