Clinical Tropical Medicine

Question 1

List of tropical diseases presenting with fever and jaundice.

Answer 1

✅ Malaria (especially severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria with hemolysis or hepatic dysfunction).
✅ Yellow fever (flavivirus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes; causes hepatic necrosis and jaundice).
✅ Viral hepatitis (A, B, E) – hepatitis A and E are common in areas with poor sanitation.
✅ Leptospirosis (Weil’s disease; associated with fever, jaundice, renal failure, and hemorrhagic manifestations).
✅ Amoebic liver abscess (due to Entamoeba histolytica, common in tropical areas).
✅ Dengue (severe cases) – dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome can cause hepatocellular injury and jaundice.
✅ Schistosomiasis (chronic hepatosplenic disease can lead to portal hypertension and secondary jaundice).
✅ Rickettsial infections (e.g., scrub typhus, spotted fever group) – can cause hepatic involvement and jaundice.
✅ Typhoid fever (can cause cholestatic hepatitis, though jaundice is less common).

Question 2

List of tropical diseases presenting with fever and eye symptoms.

Answer 2

✅ Leptospirosis - Conjunctival suffusion (red eyes without exudate) is a classic early sign, along with fever, myalgia, and jaundice in severe cases (Weil’s disease).

✅ Dengue fever - Retro-orbital pain (pain behind the eyes) is a common complaint, along with fever, headache, myalgia, and rash.

✅ Onchocerciasis (River blindness) - Can present with fever (due to systemic immune response) and eye symptoms such as sclerosing keratitis, chorioretinitis, and eventual blindness.

✅ Rickettsial infections (e.g., scrub typhus, spotted fever) - Conjunctival injection and sometimes photophobia.

✅ Malaria - Though not primarily an eye disease, severe malaria can cause retinal hemorrhages and visual changes in cerebral malaria.

✅ Trypanosomiasis (African sleeping sickness) - Early stage may present with fever, posterior uveitis, or conjunctivitis due to trypanosomal parasites.

✅ Vitamin A deficiency (due to tropical malnutrition, secondary to infections) - While not an infectious cause, vitamin A deficiency (e.g., after repeated measles) can cause fever (due to infection) and eye symptoms (xerophthalmia, keratomalacia).