Tonsillitis describes inflammation of the tonsils and is usually spread from one person to another, either through inhaling droplets after an infected person coughs or sneezes, or by direct contact. In general, the incubation period - the time from exposure of the virus to symptom - is between two and four days.
In most cases, it causes only mild symptoms and resolves without intervention from a doctor. A number of patients, however, suffer enough to seek advice from either their local pharmacist or GP. Rarely, patients have serious complications of tonsillitis requiring hospital treatment.
CAUSES
From 50 to 80 per cent of cases of tonsillitis are caused by a virus, which may include adenovirus, rhinovirus, enterovirus, parainfluenza, influenza and herpes simplex (more commonly known as the cold sore virus). Glandular fever, caused by the Epstein-Barr virus, accounts for 1 to 10 per cent of tonsillitis cases. Sometimes referred to as infectious mononucleosis, glandular fever can also cause inflammation of the liver and makes the spleen more prone to rupture.
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