Modern aspects of infectious mononucleosis in children

The relevance of infectious mononucleosis at the present stage is due to its widespread prevalence, lifelong persistence of pathogens in the human body, persistent immunological changes during periods of active infectious process, lack of effective means of treatment and prevention. The purpose of the study: to analyze modern aspects of infectious mononucleosis in children. Materials and methods: the article presents literature data on the importance of the IM problem in children at the present stage and the results of their own observations of 316 children hospitalized in the Regional Infectious Diseases Clinical Hospital of Yaroslavl in the period from 2021 to 2023. Results: the age group of patients is dominated by children 4—6 and 11—17 years old. The clinical picture still shows characteristic symptoms: fever, difficulty nasal breathing, tonsillitis, lymphadenopathy, exanthema, enlarged liver and spleen. In most patients, the appearance of a rash is associated with the appointment of semi-synthetic penicillins at the prehospital stage. Atypical mononuclear cells are detected in only half of the patients, which makes it difficult to make a diagnosis based on a general blood test. In primary infection, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) remains dominant in isolation or in combination with cytomegalovirus (CMV). Reactivation in almost all patients is caused by CMV on the background of primary EBV infection.