When the cadets entered, roughly 30 percent lacked the antibody for Epstein-Barr virus. They had essentially not encountered it in any meaningful way. Of that group that had the antibody, 20 percent eventually “became infected,” according to the research paper, written by Yale scholars and published in 1979 in Psychosomatic Medicine. Among the cadets who became infected, 25 percent not only had antibodies but showed clinical signs of being sick. What was surprising was one common thread among cadets likely to develop infectious mono: They were doing poorly in school, had highly accomplished
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