Abstract
The sickness response to acute viral infections involves a number of immunological, behavioural, and emotional symptoms. The manifestation, severity, and subsequent speed of resolution for these symptoms are not uniform across individuals, even when infected with the same pathogen. This study examined the rate of recovery across four discrete symptom domains for 493 participants enrolled in a prospective cohort who were followed from documented, naturally-occurring acute infection with Epstein Barr virus, Ross River virus, or Coxiella burnetii , until recovery. Principal component analyses of symptom reports collected during initial assessment were used to empirically derive indices of fatigue, pain, mood disturbance, and neurocognitive difficulties. Component loadings were subsequently forced onto symptom reports obtained during follow-up assessments. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis identified a significant difference in the speed of recovery across symptom domains, χ 2 ( 3 ) = 147.80 , p p = .048). These findings indicate possible genetic determinants of the speed of recovery from acute viral illnesses across discrete symptom domains.
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