Medical history (history of illness) represents an important component in the diagnosis of viral hemorrhagic fever.
Family history
- What is the general health status of your relatives?
Social history
- What is your profession?
- Have you been abroad recently? If so, where exactly?
- Have you had contact with animals, sick people?
- Do you remember a mosquito bite/tick bite?
Current medical history/systemic history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- Do you have a fever? If so, what is the temperature? How long has the fever been present?
- Do you suffer from headaches, muscle aches, etc.?
- Have you noticed any skin changes?
- Have you noticed any bleeding?
- What other symptoms have you noticed?
Vegetative anamnesis including nutritional anamnesis.
- Have you recently consumed (abroad) raw or undercooked meat or unpasteurized dairy products?
Self history including medication history.
- Pre-existing conditions
- Operations
- Radiotherapy
- Vaccination status
- Allergies
- Environmental history
- Medication history
Travel history
Risk factors for Ebola/Marburg fever:
- Have you had contact with dead apes or eaten ape meat in Central Africa or West Africa?
- Have you eaten “bushmeat” in Central Africa or West Africa?
- Have you been in caves or dwellings where bats nest?
- Have you had contact with possible Ebola/Marburg patients (i.e., especially medical personnel from hospitals in Central Africa).
Risk factors for Crimean-Congo fever (CCHF):
- Had contact with ticks in the endemic area (Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Central Asia).
- Have you participated in animal slaughter in the endemic area?
- Have you had any contact with possible CCHF patients in the endemic area?
Risk factors for Lassa fever:
- Have you lived or worked in West Africa?
- If yes. Have you lived in dwellings to which rats had access?
- Have you eaten food that may have been contaminated by rat feces or urine?
- Have you had contact with possible vice virus patients? [This particularly applies to medical personnel from hospitals in West Africa.]
