Unknown bug/virus

This is where our community discusses almost anything! While we're mainly a Cambodia expat discussion forum and talk about expat life here, we debate about almost everything. Even if you're a tourist passing through Southeast Asia and want to connect with expatriates living and working in Cambodia, this is the first section of our site that you should check out. Our members start their own discussions or post links to other blogs and/or news articles they find interesting and want to chat about. So join in the fun and start new topics, or feel free to comment on anything our community members have already started! We also have some Khmer members here as well, but English is the main language used on CEO. You're welcome to have a look around, and if you decide you want to participate, you can become a part our international expat community by signing up for a free account.
User avatar
Jlucas
Expatriate
Posts: 83
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:06 am
Reputation: 25
Canada

Unknown bug/virus

Post by Jlucas »

So I just returned from my trip to Cambodia , it was awesome other than getting super sick .. iv been to the doctor's three times now and all tests negative

May 21st was day one ... Evening time and I couldnt get away from the toilet ...explosive from both ends ... Lasted 24 hrs .. thinking I got basic food poisoning..I went on with my trip... for the next 9 days I finished my trip with mild daily diarrhea..

After returning home my diarrhea persisted and on the may 30th I woke up with flu like symptoms , aching joints, stiff muscles and still diarrhea..
and began to think it might be something other than food poisoning..

My doctor has done blood work and a shit test but so far everything is negative... He replies that there is a million things in South Asia that will get me sick and doctors here know very little about them

They have checked me for malaria , thyphoid and Salmonella..

Is there something they don't know about that I should test for ?
User avatar
frank lee bent
Expatriate
Posts: 11330
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 4:10 am
Reputation: 2094
United States of America

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by frank lee bent »

Sounds like typhoid. I would get tested again and ask for Cipro or norfloxacin
ozguyinshv
Expatriate
Posts: 68
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 8:47 am
Reputation: 21
Australia

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by ozguyinshv »

Is there a tropical disease specialist or travel medicine clinic that you could visit where you live? They would usually be a bit more clued in with this stuff.
User avatar
Clemen
Expatriate
Posts: 867
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2018 5:04 pm
Reputation: 660
Cambodia

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by Clemen »

It's possible that it is/was two different things. One when you first arrived and something else now.
I have had no luck with tropical disease diagnosis in the u.s. Hopefully you are luckier in Canada.
up to you...
hiway5
Expatriate
Posts: 177
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 3:28 pm
Reputation: 54
Spain

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by hiway5 »

Did you eat any chicken?
User avatar
Kuroneko
Expatriate
Posts: 3809
Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 11:18 am
Reputation: 879

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by Kuroneko »

Jlucas wrote: Mon Jun 03, 2019 6:56 am So I just returned from my trip to Cambodia , it was awesome other than getting super sick .. iv been to the doctor's three times now and all tests negative

Possibles from serious to less so:

Did they test for Shigellosis and Amoebiasis?

From MSF clinical guidelines:
Shigellosis is a highly contagious bacterial infection resulting in bloody diarrhoea. There are 4 serogroups of shigella: S. dysenteriae, S. sonnei, S. flexneri, S. boydii.
– S. dysenteriae type 1 (Sd1) is the only strain that causes large scale outbreaks. It has the highest case fatality rate (up to 10%).
Treatment
If resistance or contra-indication to ciprofloxacin or if no improvement within 48 hours of starting first-line treatment:
azithromycin PO for 5 days
Children: one dose of 12 mg/kg on D1 then 6 mg/kg once daily from D2 to D5
Adults: one dose of 500 mg on D1 then 250 mg once daily from D2 to D5
or
cefixime PO for 5 days
Children: 8 mg/kg once daily (max. 400 mg daily)
Adults: 400 mg once daily
If there is no improvement 48 hours after starting second-line treatment, treat for Amoebiasis

Amoebiasis

Amoebiasis is a parasitic infection due to the intestinal protozoa Entamoeba histolytica. Transmission is faecal-oral, by ingestion of amoebic cysts from food or water contaminated with faeces. Usually, ingested cysts release non-pathogenic amoebae and 90% of carriers are asymptomatic.
In 10% of infected patients, pathogenic amoebae penetrate the mucous of the colon: this is the intestinal amoebiasis (amoebic dysentery). The clinical picture is similar to that of shigellosis, which is the principal cause of dysentery.

Treatment

– Amoebic dysentery
• The presence of cysts alone should not lead to the treatment of amoebiasis.
• Amoebiasis confirmed with a parasitological stool examination:
tinidazole PO
Children: 50 mg/kg once daily for 3 days (max. 2 g daily)
Adults: 2 g once daily for 3 days
or metronidazole PO
Children: 15 mg/kg 3 times daily for 5 days
Adults: 500 mg 3 times daily for 5 days
• If there is no laboratory, first line treatment for dysentery is for shigellosis. Treat for amoebiasis if correct treatment for shigellosis has been ineffective.
• Oral rehydration salts (ORS) if there is risk of, or if there are signs of dehydration (follow the WHO protocols, Appendix 2).


https://medicalguidelines.msf.org/viewp ... 89596.html

More generally: Acute diarrhoea

– Acute diarrhoea is defined as at least 3 liquid stools per day for less than 2 weeks.
– There are 2 clinical types of acute diarrhoea:
• Diarrhoea without blood, caused by viruses in 60% of cases (rotavirus, enterovirus), bacteria (Vibrio cholerae, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, non Typhi Salmonella, Yersinia enterocolitica) or parasites (giardiasis). Diseases, such as malaria, acute otitis media, respiratory tract infections, etc. can be accompanied by this type of diarrhoea.
• Diarrhoea with blood, caused by bacteria (Shigella in 50% of cases, Campylobacter jejuni, enteroinvasive or enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Salmonella) or parasites (intestinal amoebiasis).
– Infectious diarrhoeas are transmitted by direct (dirty hands) or indirect (ingestion of contaminated water or food) contact.

https://medicalguidelines.msf.org/viewp ... 89593.html
User avatar
SternAAlbifrons
Expatriate
Posts: 5752
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2019 11:31 am
Reputation: 3424
Location: Gilligan's Island
Pitcairn Island

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by SternAAlbifrons »

Commiserations Jlucas. All us celebrity doctors here on CEO tend to confirm that your doctor is right.
i.e. -It could be a million different things and most doctors in the west (and on CEO) would only be guessing.

My suggestion;
i/Try to find a tropical medicine practice/institute/faculty.
Canada is sure to have some specialists. Even if they cannot treat you themselves, they should be able to point you in the right direction.
ii/ Ask your doctor if he knows of any doctors in your area that come from a SE Asian background. They may be able to recognise your symptoms, having actually seen them before.
iii/ Be very wary of definitive diagnosis found on Google Facebook and CEO.

Not meaning to scare you unnecessarily, but some of our diseases definitely need the correct medical diagnosis and specific treatment, to avoid serious consequences.
A number of them are "sleepers" too, and can flare up months/years later.

Best wishes, If you end up in hospital, let us know and we will send you a bunch of sick jokes.
User avatar
frank lee bent
Expatriate
Posts: 11330
Joined: Sat May 17, 2014 4:10 am
Reputation: 2094
United States of America

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by frank lee bent »

Kuroneko is a genuine clinician whose advice can be taken with confidence.
User avatar
phuketrichard
Expatriate
Posts: 16761
Joined: Wed May 14, 2014 5:17 pm
Reputation: 5721
Location: Atlantis
Aruba

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by phuketrichard »

....flu like symptoms , aching joints, stiff muscles and still diarrhea..
sounds like dengue

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... -siem-reap
In a nation run by swine, all pigs are upward-mobile and the rest of us are fucked until we can put our acts together: not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely. HST
User avatar
cptrelentless
Expatriate
Posts: 3033
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2015 11:49 am
Reputation: 565
Location: Sihanoukville
Korea North

Re: Unknown bug/virus

Post by cptrelentless »

Unless there's blood in your shit there's no need to panic. Or at least that's the opinion of the doctors in the uk. It's likely you shook the bug out when you had the fever and now your arse is still broken and will take time to heal. You can have the squirts for up to 6 weeks before anyone cares enough to look. Eat plenty of live bacteria yoghurt and unpasteurised picked vegetables like kimchee or sauerkraut, try and evict any invaders. You don't want to be cramming in random antibiotics and giving yourself drug-resistant e coli.
Post Reply Previous topicNext topic
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post