ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a case study of a 40-year-old man who is presented to the Emergency Department with a history of episodic high fever and feeling generally unwell. Fever is a very common symptom in returning travellers and has a broad differential diagnosis, ranging from life-threatening to self-limiting illness. Therefore, such patients need a systematic evaluation that aims to elucidate not only whether an infectious disease is the cause but also whether that disease is transmissible, as this has important public health implications. The differential diagnosis of fever in this returning traveller is broad, with the commonest diagnoses including malaria, viral fevers, viral mononucleosis, typhoid and viral hepatitis. The initial evaluation of this patient in the Emergency Department should include obtaining basic blood tests, blood cultures, urinalysis and chest radiograph. Additional testing should be performed based on clinical suspicion but would not be necessarily indicated in this patient unless baseline blood testing revealed other abnormalities such as deranged liver function.
