A 20 year old woman presents with fever, severe myalgia and ahralgia, pain behind the eyes and rash for 3 days. Lab repos show thrombocytopenia and leucopenia. What is the most likely diagnosis?
High-Yield Explanation
The most likely diagnosis is dengue. Dengue presents as sudden-onset fever, retroorbital pain, muscle and joint pains, and a rash. The alternative name for dengue, "breakbone fever", comes from the associated muscle and joint pains. Suspected cases of dengue are confirmed by presense of NS 1 antigen or IgM antibodies. The treatment of dengue is suppoive with hydration taking top priority. The image below shows erythema with petechiae of a patient with dengue fever. (White islands in a red sea) Reference: Ananthanarayan and Paniker&;s Textbook of Microbiology Tenth edition