Trench fever (also known as “five-day fever”, “quintan fever” (Latin: febris quintana), and “urban trench fever”) is a moderately serious disease transmitted by body lice.
| Trench fever | |
|---|---|
| Symptoms | fever |
| Duration | 5 days |
| Causes | infected insect bite |
| Prevention | body hygiene |
In this post
What was trench fever called?
Bartonella quintana infection (historically called ‘trench fever’) is a vector-borne disease primarily transmitted by the human body louse Pediculus humanus humanus.
What is trench fever like?
Symptoms and Signs of Trench Fever
After a 14- to 30-day incubation period, onset of trench fever is sudden, with fever, weakness, dizziness, headache (with pain behind the eyes), conjunctival injection, and severe back and leg (shin) pains. Fever may reach 40.5° C and persist for 5 to 6 days.
How did trench fever happen?
Trench fever is a clinical syndrome caused by infection with Bartonella quintana; the condition was first described during World War I. Contemporary B quintana disease, commonly referred to as urban trench fever, is typically found in homeless, alcoholic, and poor populations.
How is trench fever diagnosed?
Most persons recover within about two months; there may be relapses, however, and the disease becomes chronic in a small percentage of cases. The disease may be diagnosed through blood or serological tests, as well as through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing of tissue or blood samples.
What causes a fever for 5 days?
Viral Infections can commonly cause fevers, and such infections include COVID-19, cold or the flu, airway infection like bronchitis, or the classic stomach bug. That’s why you often hear the word “viral” as an explanation because these types of infections often go away on their own after a few days.
When did trench fever start?
In mid-1915 physicians in the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France began to notice an unusual acute febrile illness in soldiers accompanied by headache, dizziness, back ache, and a peculiar pain and stiffness in the legs, particularly the shins.
Is trench fever common?
Trench fever is caused by Bartonella quintana, a facultative intracellular bacterium transmitted by the human body louse. An estimated 1 million people were affected by trench fever during World War I [1].
Official answer. Most fevers caused by a virus last for 3 to 4 days, although some can last as little as 1 day, and others, such as one caused by Dengue fever, can last up to 10 days or more. Viral fevers can range in temperature from 99°F (37.2°C) to over 103°F (39.4°C), depending on the underlying virus.
Why fever comes again and again?
Recurrent fevers keep happening and coming back over time. A classic fever is also usually linked to an infection or virus. With a recurrent fever, you may have a higher body temperature without any virus or bacterial infection.
Is it normal for a child to have fever for 5 days?
In babies and children older than 3 months, a fever is a temperature greater than 101.5 degrees F. Call your doctor if your child’s temperature reaches 102.2 degrees F or higher. Most fevers go away in a couple of days. Call your doctor if the fever lasts four days or more.
Viral fever duration for most viral infections is 3-5 days; however, in a few of the viral infections, fever can last up to 14 days. Viral fever is generally not considered a disease or illness but is a result/indication of an underlying viral infection.
How many days fever is normal?
Most fevers usually go away by themselves after 1 to 3 days. A persistent or recurrent fever may last or keep coming back for up to 14 days. A fever that lasts longer than normal may be serious even if it is only a slight fever.
Viral hemorrhagic (hem-uh-RAJ-ik) fevers are infectious diseases that can cause severe, life-threatening illness. They can damage the walls of tiny blood vessels, making them leak, and can hamper the blood’s ability to clot. The resulting internal bleeding is usually not life-threatening, but the diseases can be.
Why do fever spike at night?
At night, there is less cortisol in your blood. As a result, your white blood cells readily detect and fight infections in your body at this time, provoking the symptoms of the infection to surface, such as fever, congestion, chills, or sweating.
What are the 3 stages of fever?
The 3 phases of fever
- Your body reacts and heats up. Your blood and lymphatic system make white blood cells, which fight infection.
- The fever levels off. In the second phase of a fever, the amount of heat you make and lose is the same.
- Cooling down.
What are the 5 types of fever?
The 5 types of fever are intermittent, remittent, continuous or sustained, hectic, and relapsing. A fever is a physiological problem when your body temperature is above the normal range.
Can fever last for 10 days?
Persistent (chronic) fevers are typically defined as fevers lasting more than 10 to 14 days. A fever can mean a lot of different things, but most low-grade and mild fevers are nothing to worry about. Most often, an increase in body temperature is a normal response to an infection, like a cold or the flu.
What is French fever?
Trench fever (also known as “five-day fever”, “quintan fever” (Latin: febris quintana), and “urban trench fever”) is a moderately serious disease transmitted by body lice. It infected armies in Flanders, France, Poland, Galicia, Italy, Salonika, Macedonia, Mesopotamia, Russia and Egypt in World War I.
What is prolonged fever?
Persistent fever is a continuous fever, lasting more than 3 days. If a child has a prolonged fever or a persistent fever, it will make the child tired due to dehydration, electrolyte disturbances and may cause convulsions.