Differential diagnosis in travelers returning from tropical countries with fever and rash

Nandini Chatterjee, MD, is a professor of medicine in the Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (IPGMER) in Kolkata, India, and editor in chief of the McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine South Asia Edition.

What are the primary principles of differential diagnosis in adults who have traveled to tropical countries and present with fever and rash upon return?

When a person travels to the tropics and comes back with fever and rashes, we should think of primarily 4 to 5 diseases that are common—are endemic—in these areas. The foremost of them would be the dengue fever, followed by leptospirosis, chikungunya, as well as scrub typhus.