title: The etiology of acute pyrexia of unknown origin in children after a flood.
abstract: Acute pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) is a major public health problem in Thailand. We studied the etiology of 180 cases of acute PUO in children after a sudden severe flood in Hat Yai city in 2000. Dengue infection and leptospirosis accounted for more than half of the total cases. Dengue hemorrhagic fever was the most common (29.4%) followed by leptospirosis (27.2%) and scrub typhus infection (1.1%). Five serovars of leptospires were involved in this study. Leptospira interrogans bataviae was the most common (86.5%). Acute serum antibody testing could detect only 52.8% and 40.8% of dengue and leptospirosis cases, respectively. This study showed both should be included in the presumptive diagnosis of acute PUO in patients after flooding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand. pjintana@ratree.psu.ac.th
authors.forename: Jintana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pradutkanchana
authors.forename: Sukone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pradutkanchana
authors.forename: Marisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kemapanmanus
authors.forename: Nathakul
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wuthipum
authors.forename: Kamkarn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Silpapojakul
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D005335:Fever of Unknown Origin / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012282:Rickettsia Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D013785:Thailand / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population