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chronic low-grade fever

I've had a low-grade fever (around 100; my normal temps is 97.5-98.5) for almost three months now. It started while I was living in sub-Saharan Africa. The country where I was living (Burundi) has poor medical care. I was put on two courses of antibiotics and an anti-parasitic medicine, but I did not get better. I was evacuated to Nairobi, where the doctor found giardia (I had no gastrointestinal symptoms). I was treated for that, but no change in the fever (although before the treatment for that, I had had a poor appetite and had lost about 13 pounds - a lot, since I'm about 115 normally - and the giardia treatment seemed to fix that problem). When I returned to the US, I had many more tests done. They found that the giardia had indeed cleared up. I had an abdominal ultrasound, which was normal. So far, all of the blood work has been normal. They have done a stool culture, blood cultures, CBC, and urine sample - everything normal. HIV, mono, dengue, typhoid, and malaria were all negative.

My housemate from Burundi fell sick at about the same time I did, with the same symptoms, so we figure it has to either be contagious or a common source, with the latter being more probably because none of our respective family members has fallen sick in the month we've been back. She still has a low-grade fever, as well. She also has had many tests done, at different places from where my tests were done, all negative/normal.

Besides the low-grade fever, I feel weak and have some fatigue, but I wouldn't say it's extreme.

I'm going to be seeing an infectious disease specialist, but the waiting list is long. With all of these tests being negative/normal, are there any serious illnesses left that could be causing the fever, or is it more likely that it's something less serious?
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Avatar universal
A related discussion, I have a chronic low grade fever for 2 months. was started.
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351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi
Welcome to the MedHelp forum!
I can see that you have undergone extensive lab tests. Still, I am enumerating the possibilities. See what has been missed. Recurrent or chronic fever is seen in tuberculosis, SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) and other auto immune disorders, UTI, drug fever, sinusitis, glandular fever, otitis media, IBS, HIV, STDs, endocarditis, parasitic infestations, fungal infections, lymphomas and other cancers etc.
In women, even polycystic ovary, menopause, PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) should be investigated for.
With repeated infection, I am sure your diabetes status has been checked. Other than that it could be due to persistent infection. If you have been to tropical kind of climate, then malaria, schistosomiasis, Brucellosis and other worms in stool should also be ruled out. Kidney infection, genital tuberculosis, inflammatory bowel disease etc are some other causes that should be looked into. Dehydration is another cause of low grade fever so increase your fluid intake and see if it helps. Take care!
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Avatar universal
Hi,It might sound strange to you,but from the description of your symptoms.(temperature around 100)you should ask your PCP to check your system for the presence of Pneumonia Jirovecii in your lungs sputum.
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