New publication: Causes of Fever in Rural Southern Laos

Postdoc Suhella Tulsiani from the University of Copenhagen recently co-authored an article about the causes of fever in rural southern Laos.

Below is an abstract. You can access the article in its entirety on the website of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Causes of Fever in Rural Southern Laos

Authors

Mayfong Mayxay, Onanong Sengvilaipaseuth, Anisone Chanthongthip, Audrey Dubot-Pérès, Jean-Marc Rolain, Philippe Parola, Scott B. Craig, Suhella Tulsiani, Mary-Anne Burns, Maniphone Khanthavong, Siamphay Keola, Tiengkham Pongvongsa, Didier Raoult, Sabine Dittrich and Paul N. Newton

Abstract

The etiology of fever in rural Lao People's Democratic Republic (Laos) has remained obscure until recently owing to the lack of laboratory facilities. We conducted a study to determine the causes of fever among 229 patients without malaria in Savannakhet Province, southern Laos; 52% had evidence of at least one diagnosis (45% with single and 7% with apparent multiple infections). Among patients with only one diagnosis, dengue (30.1%) was the most common, followed by leptospirosis (7.0%), Japanese encephalitis virus infection (3.5%), scrub typhus (2.6%), spotted fever group infection (0.9%), unspecified flavivirus infection (0.9%), and murine typhus (0.4%). Herein, we discuss the empirical treatment of fever in relation to these findings.

Financial support

This study was supported by the Wellcome Trust of Great Britain.

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