kissing disease

So called because it may be transmitted through kissing.

the kissing disease (uncountable)

1. (colloquial) Mononucleosis.
   • 1961 February, “What in the world is Mononucleosis?”, in Kiplinger Magazine, retrieved 19 October 2010, page 30:

     It was in a college, West Point, that infectious mononucleosis won a romantic reputation. . . . Investigators at a girls' school also found post-vacation peaks, and mono became known as the "kissing disease".

• “kissing disease”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.