Mono Symptoms May Be Warning of AIDS

A short bout with a mononucleosis-like illness may be the first indication of infection by the AIDS virus, according to Dr. Merle Sande of San Francisco General Hospital.

Like mononucleosis, also known as the “kissing disease,” the condition causes fever, muscle and joint pain, a skin rash and often a sore throat.

At a medical conference in New Orleans last week, Sande said the mononucleosis-like symptoms typically last about two weeks and have been observed in some who subsequently were found to have antibodies to the AIDS virus.

He said the observation is based on an Australian study of 150 people who were considered at high risk of becoming infected with the AIDS virus. Of 12 people in the group who later tested positive for exposure to the virus, 11 reported having experienced the mononucleosis-like symptoms.

Because such symptoms appear to be an advance warning of infection, Sande said, affected persons who already are at high risk should immediately have a blood test. Knowledge of infection can reduce the chances of an infected person passing on the virus to others.

If the test is negative, it should be repeated in about six weeks, he said.

Now, most antibody-positive people do not learn for months, or even years, that they have been exposed to the virus, and consequently may be spreading the disease unwittingly.