I was diagnosed with the Epstein-Barr virus. I realize that it is related to mono and herpes. My concern is for my family, as far as contagiousness. I had these symptoms long before I was seen by a doctor, and during these times I kissed my husband and children, shared glasses, and broke almost all the taboos that go along with contagious diseases. Is it possible that I infected them?

S.S.

The Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV, is the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis, also called mono. It belongs to a family of viruses called the herpesvirus family. Other members of this family include viruses that cause oral and genital herpes, chickenpox and shingles, roseola and other diseases. However, EBV itself does not cause these other infections, so you could not put your family at risk of catching herpes or any of these other diseases.

Your family is at some risk of getting EBV, of course, but the virus is not all that contagious. Roommates of infected people are no more likely to get infected than the general population, at least in some studies. Mono is sometimes referred to as the "kissing disease," because deep kissing appears to help transmit the infection. This probably explains why so many adolescents develop mono after they start to experiment with kissing.

Often, infection with EBV does not cause any symptoms. It seems that the younger a person is when they get infected, the more likely it is that they won't have a noticeable illness. Young children are usually in this category, while older adolescents and adults are more likely to have symptoms. This is another reason why adolescents are more likely than children to come down with mono.

Unfortunately, I do not have any firm recommendations for you. Your family is at some, but not great, risk of EBV infection. Your husband has the highest risk in your family, assuming he was not the person who gave it to you. If he was, then he is immune to being reinfected. You may be contagious for months, even more than a year, after you recover. But you cannot, nor should you, avoid all chance of transmission to your family. Remember that EBV is usually harmless. If a member of your family does become infected, chances are good that he or she won't have any symptoms at all. It would be highly unlikely that he or she would become very ill. Finally, I do not think there is any point in testing your family members for EBV, unless they became ill. Your physician would not do anything differently whether they were infected or not.