Is a person with MS at risk from mono?

Hello all,

I'm posting this here as I'm hoping it will get to more people. I recently posted this on a smaller thread on this website, but hoping this will get more exposure. I apologize if this breaks protocol or clogs the system. I also apologize for its length.

Below is the research I've done so far and I've pasted the links that led me to that research. I hope people find this helpful. I DO have a question that I'm hoping others can help me with the answer. I've been dating someone for several months. She has MS. We've been separated for the past two months during which time, I got mono. It seems very likely I got it from her (the incubation period is 4-6 weeks so it's certain I was exposed before our separation). Regardless, we are to be reunited this weekend and I'm sure that I'm still contagious with EBV even though I feel fine (a person can remain contagious for several weeks/sometimes months--it's wildly random and no way to tell). I'm worried that she will be at risk from me. On the surface, this seems like a no-brainer, with the answer being yes, she is at risk. But if you read below, you'll see it's a little more complicated.


EBV and mono

The Epstein-Barr vrius (EBV) causes mono. But not everyone exposed to EBV gets mono (some estimates only 35-50%, most often in adults. If exposed as child, it often goes unnoticed). Most adults (95%) in the U.S. ages 30-40 have been exposed and therefore, according to the CDC, EBV is considered ubiquitous. Once exposed to EBV (whether they got mono or not)  a person with a normal immune system is then immune to EBV, and so there is generally no risk of getting it again. It's kind of like chicken pox in the sense that you (usually) only get in once.  Furthermore, anyone who has been exposed to EBV can intermittently become a carrier anytime throughout their lives, even with no symptoms. In fact, the CDC reports that it's most often transmitted by healthy people who have no symptoms but are still  carriers and thus, "transmission of the virus is almost impossible to prevent."

EBV and MS

Very recent research does seem to indicate that EBV is one of the contributing factors of getting MS. One of several, but it seems to be a necessary one, which is to say, virtually all people with MS have been exposed to EBV (they may or may not have gotten mono).

So IN THEORY, I should pose no risk to my partner, since it's more than likely that I got EBV from her.
IN THEORY, she has already been exposed to EBV and therefore immune.

HOWEVER, I'm not totally convinced. I'm still afraid that I'm contagious and being intimate with my partner will expose her to EBV. I'm less worried that it will make her sick with mono, which seems unlikely. BUT I am worried that it could  trigger MS symptoms since EBV is one of the triggers for onset.

Unfortunately, my current medical environment is not the best. In fact, I seem more informed than my doctor. Very frustrating.

Can anyone help me? I'm supposed to be reunited with my partner this weekend after two months apart (during which time I had mono).

thanks,
tp

EBV and MS

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2010-releases/epstein-barr-virus-and-risk-of-multiple-sclerosis.html
http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/news/20090504/epstein-barr-virus-linked-to-ms
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/42767.php

CDC's website on mono
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/ebv.htm

[Lulu54]

Hi.  I'm thinking that I've heard that almost all of us have been exposed to EBV in our early life.  The connection between EBV and MS is not proven but it appears to be linked somewhere in there.  

Yes, a new round of EBV for her could set off a relapse, but these again it might not come to that.  Enjoy having her home again.  I'm sure the two of you will find ways to rekindle your relationship without any unnecessary risks to her health.

I'm so sorry I don't have any real answer for you here - hopefully someone else will see this and help out.

be well, Lulu