Infection during pregnancy
Most women of childbearing age have already overcome an EBV infection that was asymptomatic and therefore went unnoticed. For this reason, an initial infection with Pfeiffer’s glandular fever during pregnancy is very rare. It is suspected that an initial infection during pregnancy is associated with an increased probability of miscarriage or malformation.
However, if the mother has already had an EBV infection, she will transfer her protection against the virus to the newborn. However, this protection only lasts for about the first half of the baby’s life, after which time the baby can theoretically be infected with mononucleosis. Often the infection also goes unnoticed in small children, but if fever, sore throat and swollen lymph nodes in the neck are observed for longer than three days, there may be a case of mononucleosis and a pediatrician should be contacted.
Risk of infection for babies
With regard to babies, it is believed that initial infection of the mother during pregnancy may be associated with a higher risk of miscarriage or fetal malformation. Since most mothers often contracted Pfeiffer’s glandular fever before birth and have developed antibodies, they can transmit it to their newborn and provide protection against the Epstein-Barr virus for the first one to six months of life. This is why babies do not usually develop Pfeiffer’s glandular fever during this period.
It is known that people who have already contracted Pfeiffer’s glandular fever once in their lives can be contagious again and again.Thus the risk exists naturally also in the infancy that for example parents or other fellow men infect infants with the virus, because the nest protection described above exists usually only approximately for four to six months. If a baby or even a toddler is infected with the Epstein-Barr virus, it is often difficult to recognize the Pfeiffer’s glandular fever, as it is difficult to distinguish it from other infectious diseases, because in most cases only very unspecific symptoms appear in infancy. Of course, a baby is also contagious for other people for a longer period of time after infection with the virus.
Close contact with other children should therefore be avoided in the first period after infection. Pfeiffer’s glandular fever is a highly infectious virus that is transmitted via saliva. If a family member is infected, a baby or toddler can also become ill very quickly.
In everyday life, this can easily happen by sharing glasses, cutlery or crockery. Even if an adult supposedly wants to clean a baby’s pacifier in his own mouth for protection, the risk of infection is high. Fortunately, however, the clinical course of an infection in children is usually not symptomatic.
