Glandular Fever

Together with influenza, glandular fever is responsible for the most number of days absent from school. Caused by the Epstein Barr virus, glandular fever occurs most commonly in late childhood, although adults are also susceptible, especially when under extreme stress. The acute phase of glandular fever, characterised by swollen glands, an increase in temperature, sore throat and extreme tiredness and lethargy may last two to three weeks, and the effects can linger for months, or even years.

A virus is an insidious and stealthy invader. It is not a living cell, but a piece of genetic material that takes up residence in the body’s cells. A virus does not have enough genes (in the form of DNA) to reproduce itself. Instead it commandeers the body’s cells own DNA and orders the DNA to produce more virus and virus-carrying cells. Thus it hijacks the body’s genes and uses them for its own purposes. Viruses invade the body’s immune defenses, infecting white blood cells whose role it is to digest injured cells and foreign particles. Infected cells promote the spread and persistence of the infection and they inactivate T-killer cells whose function is to clear the original infection. The result is ongoing sickness and immune suppression.