'Kissing disease' takes its toll on female students

A kiss is certainly the best way to express love, but for students at Edinburgh University it spells trouble — they are falling ill owing to what has been termed as the 'kissing disease.'

Owing to the kissing disease, 57 students of the university are suffering from glandular fever. The girls have more severe symptoms than their male counterparts suffering from the illness. At an average, the female patients missed 16 hours of classes because of the illness compared to three hours for men.

Researcher Karen McAulay said that it was not yet known why girls seemed to suffer more than boys. Girls are having a tough time combating severe tiredness, one of the main symptoms of the disease.

Other symptoms include not being able to swallow, not being able to take exercise, extreme tiredness and high fewer.

Experts are working on vaccinations to reduce cases of glandular fever. “There were vaccines in development which could be used to vaccinate students against glandular fever in future," he said.

Depending on the severity of the illness, the kissing fewer may have an adverse effect on a student's overall performance and university results.