What Are Febrile Diseases? Symptoms, Causes, and Treatments

Symptoms and Causes of Febrile Diseases

Fever is the most common defense response shown by a host against existing infectious and non-infectious diseases. It refers to a regular increase in body temperature above normal daily fluctuations. In addition to the regular increase in body temperature, physiological and metabolic changes in body systems and differences in immune response are observed. Therefore, fever contributes to the diagnosis and management of many diseases.

Fever can develop due to multiple systemic effects, including endocrine, neurological, immune, and behavioral mechanisms. Fever can be seen along with other symptoms such as cough and diarrhea, and is caused by various bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal infections. Consequently, understanding fever is of critical importance in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of many different diseases.

What Are Febrile Diseases?

Fever is often included in the names of many diseases and indicates the origins of diseases referred to as febrile. The naming of fever/febrile diseases mostly reflects the clinical characteristics or epidemiology of the disease. For example, features such as the mode of transmission, the geographical location where the disease was discovered, and prominent clinical signs are effective in identifying febrile diseases. Febrile diseases may be specific to certain geographies or may be globally prevalent. Febrile diseases are caused by various rodents, fleas, lice and mites, flies, and the bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites transmitted by them. Some common and well-known febrile diseases can be listed as follows:

Malaria

Hay fever

Cat-scratch fever

Dengue fever

Q fever

Typhus

Yellow fever

Chikungunya

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Ebola hemorrhagic fever

Typhoid fever

Scarlet fever, etc.

Some febrile diseases are specific to a certain region or country. For example, Q fever is more common in Africa, while typhoid and dengue fever are more common in South Asia.

In some diseases, certain side effects may be seen in the presence of very high fever. High fever is associated with comorbidities such as severe sepsis and cardiopulmonary diseases.

What Are the Symptoms of Febrile Diseases?

Fever is considered the main symptom in infectious or non-infectious diseases. In addition to this, various symptoms may accompany high fever in febrile diseases:

Malaria: Shivering, headache, nausea and vomiting, muscle pain and fatigue, and coughing fits are observed.

Brucellosis (Malta fever): Muscle aches, loss of appetite and weight loss, headache, generalized body spasms, and night sweats are observed.

Dengue fever: Characterized by myalgia, arthralgia, and bone pain.

Q fever: Characterized by flu-like symptoms, fever, malaise, headache, myalgia, and joint pain.

Typhus: Characterized by headache, shivering, depression, general aches, and the eruption of red rashes on the skin.

Yellow fever: Characterized by nausea and, in severe cases, jaundice due to liver damage.

Chikungunya: Characterized by severe or persistent joint pain and rash.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever: Characterized by flu-like symptoms and bleeding tendencies.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever: Characterized by malaise, muscle pain, headache, and pharyngitis, followed by vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and rash.

Typhoid fever: Characterized by skin rashes, headache, malaise, muscle aches, and dry cough.

Scarlet fever: Characterized by a red-colored rash.

In the first days of febrile diseases, the same or similar symptoms are usually seen, but distinct symptoms emerge in the later stages of the disease.

How Are Febrile Diseases Diagnosed?

Reliable detection and diagnosis of bacterial infections that can lead to febrile diseases are available in hospitals and research facilities. However, access is widely limited in regions with limited resources. Especially in low- and middle-income countries, sufficient tests for the detection of bacterial and viral infections are not available.

During the disease diagnosis process, a comprehensive travel history of the individual is taken, and people in contact are questioned. In the diagnosis of febrile diseases, diagnosis can be made in the host individual through blood tests, genetic tests, and anatomical and physiological signs. In some cases, detection can also be achieved with any tissue or fluid. A sufficient amount of blood sample is important for the diagnosis of existing infections in the bloodstream. In special blood culture bottles, the examination of organisms with specific growth requirements such as some yeasts, mycobacteria, and anaerobes can be provided.

Tests used in the diagnosis of febrile diseases other than malaria and dengue fever are complex, expensive, and limited. Furthermore, laboratory diagnosis and management of mixed or concurrent infections are difficult. Usually, in the first 3 to 5 days of viral infections, a febrile illness is seen without any clinical symptoms. In the stage where the disease reaches the syndrome phase, headache, nausea, diarrhea, and respiratory problems are commonly seen. However, dengue fever, influenza, Chikungunya, Ebola, and Lassa fever may not be distinguishable from each other in the early stages. Symptoms become prominent on the 9th day after infection and the 5th day of clinical illness, and conditions such as bleeding and coagulation disorders emerge.

What Is Good for Febrile Diseases? How Are They Treated?

The treatment of febrile diseases is specific to the bacteria, virus, or parasite causing the disease, and the necessity of early diagnosis is extremely important. In particular, there is no treatment or vaccine available for the viruses responsible for febrile diseases. Treatments aimed at the symptoms of the diseases are applied.

Control is more specific for vector-borne viruses such as mosquitoes or viruses originating from vertebrate animals such as cats, dogs, and cattle. Control of diseases can be achieved through aerial spraying of larvicides for mosquito-borne viruses, and personal protection practices and spraying for tick-borne viruses. Viruses transmitted from person to person, such as Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever and respiratory viruses, can be controlled through isolation or contact precautions.

Frequently Asked Questions

If body temperature in adults is above 39.4 °C and there are additional serious symptoms (fainting, vomiting, difficulty breathing), a doctor must be consulted. If there is a high fever in children but no response, a relevant healthcare institution should be contacted immediately.

In infants under 3 months of age with a fever of 38 °C or higher,

In young children aged 3-24 months with a fever of 38.9 °C or higher, if accompanied by malaise or irritability, a doctor should be consulted.

Febrile seizures are seizures or convulsions caused by high fever in children. They usually occur with a fever above 38 °C. Febrile diseases can cause seizures, especially in children. During a seizure, loss of consciousness, fainting, uncontrollable shaking, and rolling of the eyes are observed. Additionally, some parts of the body may stiffen or twitch. Febrile seizures usually last a few minutes, but in some cases, this duration may be longer. The person having a seizure should not be shaken, and no liquid or food should be consumed. Emergency assistance should be requested immediately, and first aid should be provided. Fever is a defense mechanism that occurs to reduce the growth rate of bacteria and viruses and to ensure the survival of the host. It is generally considered a response to infection, inflammation, or trauma. For this reason, febrile diseases mean that there is an infection in the body. It is of critical importance to consult a doctor for a fever that lasts longer than 3 days and does not respond to any medication or application. Additionally, in the presence of symptoms such as severe headache, rash, vomiting, seizures, difficulty breathing, sensitivity to light, and chest pain along with high fever, it is necessary to apply to a relevant healthcare institution. In case of high fever, the body starts to sweat to cool itself, and fluid loss is observed from the body. Since dehydration can cause the body to become dehydrated, plenty of fluids should be consumed. Since the body is fighting the infection, it is important to rest and avoid excessive physical activity. It is recommended to avoid hot environments that increase body temperature and to ventilate the environment. No medication or herbal supplement should be used without consulting your doctor. There are 3 main types of fever: continuous fever, intermittent fever, and recurrent fever. Continuous fever is defined as a fever that does not fluctuate by more than 1 °C over 24 hours and never returns to normal. It is a feature of diseases such as typhoid fever, acute bacterial meningitis, and urinary tract infections. Intermittent fever lasts only a few hours during the day. Fever due to malaria is seen in the form of intermittent fever. Recurrent fever refers to fluctuations that can exceed 2 °C but never return to normal values. It is seen in infectious diseases such as infective endocarditis, rickettsial infection, and brucellosis.

It can also be classified based on the duration of fever and body temperature. Acute fever (2 weeks) is present. According to the degree of fever, it is classified as low-grade (38.1-39 °C), moderate-grade (39.1-40 °C), and high-grade (40.1-41.1 °C) fever. Febrile diseases carry the risk of transmission from animals to humans or from humans to humans. Infections caused by some bacteria, viruses, or fungi are transmitted to humans through various ways. Febrile diseases carry the risk of transmission through physical contact, shared respiratory spaces, and the presence of invertebrate animals such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas.

If you are experiencing symptoms of febrile diseases or if a high fever cannot be brought under control, you can apply to our specialist physicians without delay.

As Hisar Hospital Intercontinental, we are with you in the diagnosis and treatment of febrile diseases with our advanced diagnostic methods and experienced physician staff. Contact us now to make an appointment.