Viral hemorrhagic fevers

Diagnosis

If you think you might have a viral hemorrhagic fever, contact your healthcare professional. Let the office know what you think you have. You might be sent directly to an emergency room. Make sure the emergency room knows that you might have a viral hemorrhagic fever before you go.

Diagnosing viral hemorrhagic fevers in the first few days of illness can be hard. Early symptoms, such as high fever, muscle aches, headaches and extreme tiredness, are common to many other conditions.

Tell your healthcare professional about your medical and travel history and whether you've been around animals, especially mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, nonhuman primates or bats.

Name the countries you visited and the dates. Tell of any contact you might have had with infection sources.

Lab tests, most often using a blood sample, can confirm a diagnosis. You most often have these tests in special labs. That's because viral hemorrhagic fevers are so easy to catch.

Treatment

There's no treatment for most viral hemorrhagic fevers other than supportive care.

Medications

The antiviral medicine ribavirin (Virazole) might shorten the course of some infections, such as Lassa fever. And the Food and Drug Administration has approved monoclonal antibody therapies Inmazeb and Ebanga to treat Ebola.

Therapy

Supportive care may help you feel better while your body fights the infection. For instance, to keep from losing too much fluid, called dehydration, you might need to get fluids through a vein in an arm, called IV. This can help keep the balance of minerals needed for nerves and muscles to work, called electrolytes.

Surgical and other procedures

Kidney dialysis might help some people. Kidney dialysis removes wastes from the blood when the kidneys fail.

Preparing for your appointment

If you think you might have a viral hemorrhagic fever, contact your healthcare professional. Let the office know what you think you have. You might be sent directly to an emergency room. Make sure the emergency room knows that you might have a viral hemorrhagic fever before you go.

What you can do

• Write down any symptoms including when they started.
• Write down your travel history and whether you've been around animals, especially mosquitoes, ticks, rodents, nonhuman primates or bats. Name the countries you visited and the dates. Tell of any contact you might have had with infection sources.
• Make a list of all medications, vitamins and supplements that you’re taking.
• Write down any questions to ask your healthcare professional.

What to expect from your doctor

Your healthcare professional is likely to ask you several questions, including:

• When did you begin experiencing symptoms?
• Have you recently traveled to areas where viral hemorrhagic fevers are spreading?
• Have your symptoms been continuous or occasional?
• How severe are your symptoms?
• Does anything improve your symptoms?
• What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?