I also had mono ( actually had it two times- when I was 8 & 17). I was diagnosed with RA when I was 41. I believe there is a connection too.

I never had mono.. I had chicken pox, strep throat and the mumps..

I have read several studies that are trying to find a correlation between autoimmune diseases and viruses.. The largest one done to date was with Havard Medical. They found that the Epstein-barr virus (herpes simplex 4) was found in more people with RA than any other virus. This virus can lay dormant and one not even know they have it.

It has now been documented by the United States Government.

There are pages and pages if you are up to reading it all. The goverment website in the photo.

Great info! Thank you very much. I've often suspected EBV, mono and select other viral insults could be associated with eventual immune-related processes. Interesting article.

I had it when I was much younger. Now I have RA. That's interesting if they do more research & find that there is a correlation.

Interesting. Just had this discussion with fellow co-worker medical staff this weekend. I had mono at age 11 and believe there may be a correlation.