Q: My 27 years old husband was suffering from para-typhoid A fever. The doctor had a test done for ESR, which was 90mm/1hr. The ESR rate was high, is this due to fever? What causes increased ESR level?

A:ESR is a marker of infection or inflammation in the body. In case a person has fever, it can have a number of causes. You don't treat the fever; you treat the cause of fever. Similarly, ESR can be high in countless conditions including typhoid, tuberculosis, arthritis and other diseases. You never treat an ESR, you treat the cause responsible for high ESR - in this case para-typhoid. Once the infection settles, the ESR will settle.