Fever in returning travelers

Travel-related illness is most often due to gastrointestinal, febrile, and dermatologic diseases. Fever in a returned traveler demands prompt attention because it may be a manifestation of an infection that could be rapidly progressive and lethal. The approach to the febrile patient should be stepwise and consider travel and exposure history. Malaria is the most common cause of fever in patients returning from Sub-Saharan Africa, whereas dengue is more frequent in travelers from other tropical and subtropical areas. Other serious diseases are typhoid and paratyphoid fever, amebic liver abscess, visceral leishmaniasis, leptospirosis and-rarely-viral hemorrhagic fevers.