Which of the following describes symptoms of mono?

• A. Fatigue, fever, sore throat, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, swollen lymph nodes
• B. Headache and back pain only
• C. Rash and joint pain
• D. Weight gain and insomnia

Answer: (A)

Mono is an EBV infection that typically presents with fatigue, fever, sore throat, and swollen lymph nodes, often accompanied by enlargement of the spleen and sometimes the liver. This combination—systemic fatigue with fever, pharyngitis, cervical lymphadenopathy, and splenomegaly or hepatomegaly—captures the classic picture, making the first option the best choice. Headache and back pain alone are too nonspecific and don’t reflect the throat symptoms and lymph node involvement seen in mono. Rash and joint pain can occur with other conditions and aren’t characteristic of mono by themselves, and weight gain with insomnia isn’t a typical presentation of this infection.