A BRITISH tourist was “terrified” and had to quarantine in hospital after she returned home from holiday with a tropical virus.
Emma Cox, 27, visited Gili in Bali for 10 days before coming down with muscle and joint pain, a full-body rash and a severe headache.
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She hadn’t planned to return home to Nine Elms, south west London, until August but was forced to book an early flight on May 17 due to her flu-like symptoms.
After calling 111, she was told to go straight to A&E – where she was taken into quarantine by doctors.
Emma was told she had contracted dengue fever after being bitten by a mosquito.
Tourists are most at risk when visiting parts of Africa, Asia, South America and the Pacific Islands.
But experts have warned the fever is becoming more prevalent in parts of Europe – like Croatia, Portugal and France.
Emma spent an hour in hospital and had to have blood tests – saying she felt “horrendous” – and is looking to get vaccinated before going travelling again.
Emma, a content creator, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, said: “The virus gave me a rash that spread right across my body – I felt horrendous, and thought it wasn’t ever going to go away.
“I almost felt like the doctors didn’t know what exactly to do about it – they saw it as a contagious, tropical disease.
“I knew it was spread by mosquitoes, so I wasn’t too worried about infecting anyone else.”
Emma arrived in Gili – known as Indonesia’s “party island” – on May 6, 2024.
She works as a “digital nomad” and planned to spend a few weeks creating content for villas and beach clubs in the local area.
But just five days later, she started feeling unwell – initially blaming it on the air conditioning.
“In my room, the glass on the window was cracked and there was a big hole in it,” she said.
“It sounds so stupid, but I couldn’t see it because it was covered by a curtain.
“But every night while I was staying there, I’d wake up, covered in bites.
“The only precaution I really took was spraying myself with repellent.”
On May 11, Emma woke up with muscle and joint pain – as well as a burning sensation behind her eyes.
She felt exhausted, but was too restless to get any sleep, and her headaches caused her to wear sunglasses inside 24/7.
At first I blamed it on the air con, then I genuinely thought I had the flu
Emma Cox
She added: “At first, I blamed it on the air con.
“My next thought was, ‘Oh god, I’m going to have to spend 23 hours flying home’.
“I genuinely thought I had the flu, and I was expecting it to go fairly quickly.”
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Emma booked a flight for May 17, and by then, her symptoms had seemingly disappeared.
She felt fine to travel – and didn’t feel the need to see a doctor when she arrived back home in the UK.
“The symptoms went away,” she said. “I was absolutely fine – I thought I must’ve got away with it.”
Emma was symptom-free for two days – but she woke up on the third day to find a rash covering her body.
“It was so strange. I felt fine within myself but I’d woken up with bumps all over my body – I’d never seen anything like it,” she said.
“They were really itchy, and they kept spreading.
“My followers – a lot of them have been backpacking around Asia – recognised it could be dengue, and they told me to call 111.”
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On May 21, Emma called the NHS helpline and was told to go straight to A&E.
Once she arrived and explained her symptoms, as well as mentioning she’d just got back from Bali, doctors told her she needed to isolate straight away.
They told her to stay in one room while they assessed her condition.
“They put me on an IV, and together we came up with a complete timeline of each place I’d visited,” she said.
“I had blood tests for loads of things – like Malaria and HIV.
“It felt like they didn’t really know how to treat someone with dengue.
“I was there for an hour, and they told me, because I didn’t seem fatal, I could go home.
“They checked up on me with phone calls, once a day, for seven days.”
Symptoms of dengue fever
Dengue fever is an infection spread by mosquitoes.
It is very common in certain parts of the world, like parts of Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Pacific islands and some areas of North America.
But people travelling to parts of Europe are also at risk, including Spain, France, Italy, Croatia and Portugal.
Dengue won’t always cause symptoms, but if you do experience some, they usually come on four to 10 days after an infected mosquito bites you.
Symptoms are often similar to flu and include:
- Fever
- Severe headache
- Pain behind the eyes
- Muscle and joint pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Widespread rash
- Abdominal pain
- Loss of appetite
- Swollen glands
Sometimes the joint pain is so severe, it can feel like your bones are breaking. This earned dengue the nickname ‘breakbone fever’.
There is no cure or specific treatment, but patients can relieve their symptoms via painkillers, staying hydrated and resting.
In rare cases, dengue can become severe. When this happens, you might experience:
- Severe stomach pain
- Repeatedly being sick
- Fast breathing
- Bleeding gums or nose
- Extreme tiredness
- Being unable to relax
- Blood in your poo or vomit
If you have these symptoms and you have travelled to a country where dengue is found, you should call 999 or go to A&E.
Source: NHS
Her rash cleared up on its own within eight days.
She was told to get the Qdenga vaccine – which protects against four strains of the virus – at her local private clinic.
Emma said: “I got like, loads of vaccines before I went out to Bali and Thailand.
“I was going back-and-forth to my GP and private clinics last year.
“Dengue is definitely a scary disease, and I’m looking into getting Qdenga for next time I visit Bali.”
Dengue can cause such severe joint pain it can feel like your bones are breaking.
This has earned it the nickname ‘breakbone fever’.
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How to protect yourself against dengue fever
THOUGH dengue is more common in tropical regions, it has been spotted in places closer to the UK.
There are certain measures you can take to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes with the virus.
- Wear long-sleeved clothing and trousers to cover your arms and legs, particularly during early morning and early evening
- Use insect repellent on your skin (ideally one that contains the ingredient DEET)
- Close windows and doors whenever possible, or use blinds or screens
- Sleep under a mosquito net treated with insecticide, including during the day
