What is Viral Fever?

Fever is an indication of the presence of a foreign particle in the human body that should not be present.

Viral fever is a type of fever that is caused by viral infection. The normal human body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Degrees F), anything above this level is considered a fever. Our body’s natural temperature increases when we are diagnosed with any foreign particle, a cold, or flu.

Viral fever can be caused by various types of viruses like SARS which caused Covid19 etc. The human body can be affected by various viruses, from cold to flu. In a few cases, fever could be of low grade indicating a symptom of viral infections but in some cases where the virus load is very high like Dengue Fever, Covid-19 Fever, and Chikungunya the fever can be very high and life-threatening.

Viral fever can last from a few days to weeks depending upon the virus, severity, treatment, and individual immune response (few people develop antibodies against viral fever much faster than others).

Treatment of Viral fever depends upon the type of Viral fever, even today few viral fevers do not have any specific vaccine developed like Chikungunya, and only symptomatic treatment is given in those cases.

Next, we will discuss the different types of viral fevers which can hit the human body.

Different Types of Viral Fever?

There can be numerous types of viral fevers, viral fevers can vary depending on their geographical location, the severity of the virus, and complications.

In some cases, when the virus is transmitted from one body to another it changes its characteristics and cycle and yield new version of virus (same we have faced during Covid 19 virus outbreak).  Most common types of viral fever are –

  1. Influenza (flu)- Influenza or flu is a very highly contagious viral infection. It can spread from one person to another by direct or indirect contact. The virus can be transferred during cough, sneezing, touching, and coming into close contact with the infected person.

The main symptoms of Influenza viral are high fever, cough, headache, chill, shivering, sore throat, weakness, fatigue, body aches, etc.

If the virus is not diagnosed on time and treatment is delayed, it can add complications such as pneumonia, especially in young children and old age groups. People with the weak immune system are likely to be diagnosed with Influenza viral diseases.

 

  1. Dengue Fever – Dengue fever is a viral disease that is caused by the bite of an Aedes mosquito. It is transferred from one person to another by mosquito bites. Dengue is the most common viral disease and is found in tropical and subtropical regions.

When an Aedes mosquito bites the Dengue infected person, it grabs the dengue virus within it and whenever it bites any healthy person, the virus is simply transmitted into the bloodstream of the healthy person making him infected.

Symptoms of Dengue fever are high fever, episodic severe headache, joint pain, weakness, muscle pain, and rashes over the body. The platelets in the blood start decreasing at a very fast rate when the dengue virus load is at its peak.

In severe cases, excessive bleeding from the gums or nose is also seen as severe dengue fever symptoms.

  1. Chikungunya Fever – Chikungunya is also another type of viral fever that is also transmitted by Aedes mosquito bites. Most of the symptoms of chikungunya fever are like dengue viral fever such as High fever, rashes, fatigue, muscle pain & joint pain.

The joint pain caused by chikungunya fever is very severe and it can last up to months. The joint pain is very debilitating and persistent making the person very weak. The joint pain can return even after years once you are infected with chikungunya viral fever.

  1. Novel Corona Virus – Another example of viral disease is the Novel coronavirus also known as Covid 19. Covid 19 is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. Covid virus was an outbreak in December 2019 and spread across the whole world leading to the lockdown globally and causing millions of deaths.

The main symptoms of covid 19 are – fever, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, headache etc.

 

  1. Viral Gastroenteritis – When your digestive system gets infected with a virus infection it is referred to as stomach flu or Viral gastroenteritis. The main symptoms of stomach flu are abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and mild fever sometimes.

Rotavirus, Norovirus, Adenovirus, and Astrovirus are the most common virus which can cause Viral gastroenteritis in humans.

  1. Respiratory Syncytial virus infection or Respiratory Viral fever –   RSV is a common viral illness that infects the respiratory system of humans. Viruses can infect the upper or lower section and in severe cases both.

Some common viral respiratory symptoms and infections are-

  • Cough and cold
  • Running nose
  • Mild Fever
  • Coryza
  • Measles
  • Infection with the respiratory syncytial virus
  • Difficulty in breathing especially in young children and old individuals
  1. Neurologic Viral fever – Those viruses which target and affect your central nervous system are known as Neurologic viral fever. The virus enters the nervous system and causes neurological illnesses.
    Most of the time virus first enters the blood and through circulation reaches out to the brain and spinal cord.
  2. Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) – HSV virus is responsible for causing various manifestations such as oral herpes, and genital herpes. The symptoms of HSV virus are mild fever, pain, itching, rashes, and blistering sores.
  3. Yellow Fever – Yellow fever is another mosquito-borne and transmitted disease. The common symptoms of the yellow virus are high fever, muscle aches, cluster headaches, and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes). If not treated on time yellow virus can lead to complications like organ failure and hemorrhage.
  4. Zika Virus – Zika virus is also a viral disease that is transmitted by mosquitos infected with the Zika virus. The symptoms of the Zika virus are the same as other viral diseases fever, headache, nausea, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis.

One of the major concerns about the Zika virus is, if Zika virus infection is found in pregnant women it can cause birth defects in newborn babies such as microcephaly.

 

What are the causes of Viral Fever?

Viral fever is caused when our body’s immune system reacts to an outside substance such as a virus. Whenever any foreign particle enters the body, they infect our cells and start multiplying, making the virus load high.

In reaction to that our body indicates the presence of the virus by raising the body temperature. The most common causes of viral fevers are below-

  1. Inhalation of viral air droplets: When any virally infected person comes into your close contact and sneezes, talks, breaths, or coughs around you, the air droplets containing the virus spread around you. When you inhale, these air droplets containing the virus enter your body resulting in viral infection in your body. The most common examples of viral infections caused due to inhalation are flu, cold, Covid 19, Measles, Tuberculosis, and Pertussis.
  2. Food & Drinks- Food & drinks which are already contaminated with the virus if you eat or drink them. They can be the primary source of infecting your body with viral fever.
    The virus which spread through contaminated food is also known as foodborne viral infection. Consuming any sort of food or drink that is contaminated with viral pathogens causes viral infection in the human body.

The most common examples of viral infection caused by food ingestion are norovirus, enteroviruses, Hepatitis, Rotavirus, Astrovirus, and Sapovirus.

  1. Mosquito Bites- Mosquitoes are responsible for transmitting the virus from an infected person to a healthy person through their bites. Almost more than 50% of viruses are transmitted by mosquitos in the human body.
    When a mosquito bites an infected person who is already suffering from viral fever it grabs the virus within and when it bites any other person it injects the virus into them.The most common viral fevers due to mosquito bites are Dengue fever, Chikungunya fever, Zika virus, yellow fever, and West Nile fever.
  2. Exchanging of Bodily fluids – There are several conditions when we require to transmit bodily fluids from one person to another. Blood transfusions, Platelets transmission, or getting pricked by an infected needle can all lead to the transmission of the virus into a healthy body. Some common examples are Hepatitis B, HIV, Hepatitis C, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and Cytomegalovirus (CMV).
  3. Sexual Contact – There are several viral fevers that can be sexually transmitted when any virally infected person makes sexual contact with a healthy person or vice versa. Below is the list of viral fevers that are sexually transmitted –
  • Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection or AIDS
  • Genital Herpes
  • Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection
  • Viral Hepatitis
  • Syphilis
  • Lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV)

 

How Viral fever is spread in humans?

In humans, viral fever can spread through various transmission modes, depending upon the type of virus causing the fever. The most common ways of spreading viral fevers are-

  • Respiratory Droplets – Many viral fevers are transmitted through respiratory droplets such as the common cold, influenza(flu), and Covid 19. When any infected person coughs, sneezes, talks, or breathes around you, they exhale the virus-containing droplets near you and when they are inhaled by another person it infects them with viral fever.
  • Direct Contact – Some viral fevers can transmit through direct contact such as HSV (herpes simplex virus). These viruses are transmitted through saliva, blood, semen, vaginal secretions, or genital lesions.
    They can also be transmitted during sexual contact, touching contaminated surfaces or objects, and then touching the face or mouth.
  • Feco-oral route – Viruses or viral fevers which spreads out through contaminated food, drink, or surface when any infected person touches them. Touching the contaminated surface or ingestion contaminated food or drinks can lead to viral infections.
  • Vertical Transmission — Some viral fevers can be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby during giving birth to a child(pregnancy), or breastfeeding. The virus can be present in breast milk, or it can cross the placenta which can cause infection in babies.

Signs & Symptoms of Viral Fever?

The human body shows a variety of signs and symptoms when infected with viral fever. However, symptoms of viral fever differ in individuals depending upon the severity of the virus, virus type, age, and immune system. Below are the most common signs and symptoms of viral fever-

  1. Fever – Fever is usually the first and most common symptom of viral fever. When any virus enters the body, our immune system starts reacting to it as resistance to a foreign particle which leads to a sudden rise in the normal body temperature exceeding 37 degrees Celsius. Fever can also be accompanied by other symptoms like chills, sweating, nausea, etc.
  2. Headache – Headache is another common symptom of viral fever and the severity of headache can be low to high. Headaches can be episodic. You may feel heaviness around your head or certain pressure. In some cases, blocking of the ear is also observed along with headache in viral fever.
  3. Weakness and Fatigue – Viral fever will make you feel dull, weak in your body, feeling tired with little or no work. It starts interfering with your daily routine and you suddenly start feeling weakness in your body.
  4. Muscle Pain and Body aches- You will feel pain in your body, muscles pain, and body discomfort when diagnosed with viral fever. The severity of pain can vary and can be different for body parts.
  5. Respiratory illness – Viral fevers impacts our respiratory system. Viral fevers like Covid 19 have symptoms like cough, common cold, high fever, drop in oxygen level (SPo2), cough, and ear block.
  6. Gastrointestinal symptoms – Few viral fevers have symptoms like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and stomach pain.
  7. Skin Rash- Some viral fevers have symptoms like rashes over the skin, and itching around the body. Viruses that have these common symptoms are Dengue fever, Zika virus, and measles.
  8. Partial or complete loss of sense of taste or smell – Some viral fevers like Covid-19 have common symptoms like temporary loss of smell and taste.
  9. Conjunctivitis- Conjunctivitis viral fevers can cause redness, itching, and sudden discharge from the eye. They bring most eye discomfort and are often accompanied by other symptoms like headache and nausea.
  10. Lymph Nodes- In a few cases, viral fever can enlarge lymph nodes, causing swelling and tenderness of lymph nodes. From the outside, they feel like bumps in the neck, armpit, or groin.
  11. Neurological symptoms- Some viral fevers can cause neurological symptoms in patients like memory loss, severe headache, confusion, blur of vision, drowsiness, and seizures. Examples of viral fever which cause neurological symptoms are Meningitis or
  12. Cardiovascular Symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath
  13. Haemorrhagic Symptoms like bleeding from the gums, nose, or skin bruising.
  14. Joint pain and swelling
  15. Neurological Manifestations
  16. Photophobia
  17. Throat or mouth ulcers
  18. Abnormal bleeding
  19. Respiratory distress
  20. Liver and kidney involvement leads to dark urine, jaundice, or abdominal pain.
  21. Mood changes
  22. Secondary Bacterial infections – Viral fevers make our immune system weaken making our body more susceptible to secondary bacterial infection.

Diagnosis of Viral Fever?

Viral fevers share the common symptoms of bacterial infection. For diagnosing viral fever, your healthcare expert will first rule out the bacterial infection. Your healthcare advisor will examine your symptoms, and check your medical history, he will also check your travel history if you have been to a place where any virus outbreak is there.

To properly diagnose the viral fever we need clinical evaluation by your professional health expert or Doctor, a Medical History of the patient, and laboratory tests to confirm the results.

Below are the common method used to diagnose viral fever-

  1. Clinical Evaluation or Medical Examination – Your Doctor will analyse your symptoms such as fever, nausea, headache, rash, sore throat, or any other symptom. They will try to find out the pattern or clue to associate them with the viral infection.
  2. Patient Travel and Medical History – Detailed evaluation of patient medical history & travel history needs to be examined to get more information for the diagnosis of viral fever. If you have traveled to an area where malaria, dengue or covid outbreak is there. It will help in narrowing down the diagnosis of viral fever.
  3. Blood Tests– Blood tests can be done to diagnose Viral fever. CBC (Complete blood count) is generally done by taking a sample of blood to determine any abnormalities in white blood cell count.
  4. Urine Tests – Urine tests are required to detect the presence of specific viral antigens when transmitted through the urinary tract.
  5. X-Ray or CT scans – In a few cases, when the virus load is high and affects the respiratory systems or other organs. X-Ray or CT Scans are ordered to check the condition of the respiratory system and other affected organs.

 

Treatment of Viral Fever?

Treatment of viral fevers involves reliving the symptoms and increasing the body’s immune response. Viral infections do not respond to antibiotics medications and they are of no use. Only symptomatic treatment is best in cases of viral fevers. Below are the common approaches used by healthcare experts to treat viral fever –

  1. Non-prescription medicines in case of high fever. Note- These medicines should be only taken under the supervision of a healthcare expert because an excessive overdose can be life-threatening. Long-time use of non-prescribed medicines can damage the liver or kidneys.
  2. Rest and Hydration – Take proper rest when you are infected with viral fever because viral fever infection causes weakness, dizziness, fatigue, and a weak body’s immune system (a system that fights against viral diseases).
    Drink plenty of juices, fluids, and clear soups to keep the body hydrated and speedy recovery.
  3. Avoid Triggers – Certain triggers can enhance the viral infection symptoms such as dust, smoke, ice etc. Try to avoid these triggers.
  4. Symptomatic relief measures like using nasal spray for nasal congestion, gargling with like warm water to treat sore throat.
  5. Blood transfusion, oxygen therapy to stabilize the patient conditions when infected severe.

Prevention of Viral Fever?

Prevention of Viral fever requires following hygiene practices and living and adopting healthy lifestyles. Although viral fever can’t be 100% prevented we can take some preventive measures to reduce the risk of viral fevers –

  1. Vaccination – Complete the course of vaccines recommended by the healthcare bodies of your area.  There are certain vaccines that have been developed to reduce certain viral diseases like influenza, measles, hepatitis B, and HPV.
    Vaccines help in boosting the immune system to fight against viruses.
  2. Regularly wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds at regular intervals of time, or after using washrooms, or when in public places or traveling.

Use hand sanitizer in case water and soap are not available. Only use sanitizers that have an alcohol content of more than 60%.

  1. Use Masks to cover your face and nose to maintain respiratory hygiene. Masks are essential in use to stop the contagious virus which can spread through sneezing, breathing, coughing, etc.
  2. Avoid close contact with an infected person, if required wear proper masks, hand gloves and sanitize the surface which is contaminated with viral infected person. If you are infected with virus, stay at home and avoid travel to stop or break the chain.
  3. Do regular exercise, maintain a healthy lifestyle, eat fruits and vitamins, and avoid consuming contaminated food.
  4. Avoid doing unsafe sex, do not share needles, sanitize the surface and commonly used objects which are part of lifestyle such as mobile, key chains, laptop, etc.

If you ever experience the symptom of viral infection or feel discomfort in your health. It is necessary to take immediate medical advice/treatment from professional medical doctors. Delay in the treatment will only add complications to your health.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Is Dengue a Viral fever?


Ans. Yes, Dengue is a viral fever. Dengue is caused by the Aedes mosquito bite. When an Aedes mosquito bites an infected person, it grabs the virus in saliva and bites the healthy person and injects the dengue virus into it causing infection to a healthy person.

Q2. Is pink eye a Viral fever?


Ans. No, pink eye is not a viral fever. Pink eye also known as conjunctivitis is an inflammation of the conjunctiva.

Q3. How long does a viral fever last?

Ans. Viral fever can last up to several few weeks to month. Depending upon the virus type, patient medical history, age group etc.

Q4. What are the symptoms of viral fever?


Ans. Most common symptoms of viral fever are-
a. Fever

  1. Headache
    c. Nausea
    d. Weakness
    e. Respiratory infections
    f. Rashg. Muscle pain
    h. Joint Pain

    Q5. What causes viral fever?


    Ans. Viral fever are mainly caused by viral infections. Viral infections are caused by various types of viruses. Such as

    Q6. What is the best treatment for viral fever?

    Ans. The best treatment for viral fever is to diagnose the viral fever in early stages, Treatment of viral fever is symptomatic because viral infections do not respond to antibiotic medications.

    Q7. What is viral fever duration in a child?

    Ans. Viral fever duration in a child can last from a few days to weeks, depending upon the virus infected, antibodies, treatment, and diagnosis.

    Q8. What is the viral fever duration in adults?

    Ans. Viral fever duration in adults depends upon the severity of virus load, virus type, diagnosis, and treatment. Viral fever in adults can last from few weeks to months.

    Q9. Can viral fever be treated at home?

    Ans. No, Viral fever should not be treated at home because delay in viral fever diagnosis and treatment can lead to severe complications and can be life-threatening in some cases.

    Q10. When to see doctor for viral fever?

Ans. As soon as you notice symptoms of viral fever, such as high fever, headache, rashes, etc.  it is important to see doctor earliest to minimize the damage from the viral fever.
Early diagnosis of viral fever is necessary for faster recovery from viral fever.