Fever / PUO
Acute febrile illness and pyrexia of unknown origin remain among the commonest reasons for hospital admission; a substantial proportion of cases stay undiagnosed with conventional testing.
Fever is one of the most frequent reasons for medical consultation, and pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) remains a clinical challenge despite improved access to diagnostics — a significant proportion of PUO cases remain undiagnosed after initial workup. In tropical settings the differential includes malaria, dengue, chikungunya, enteric (typhoid) fever, rickettsioses (including scrub typhus), leptospirosis and respiratory viral infections, which cannot be reliably distinguished on clinical grounds alone.
A syndromic multiplex approach tests a single blood (or respiratory) sample against a broad panel of likely pathogens simultaneously, supporting early, targeted therapy and rational antimicrobial use. Culture, serology and smear microscopy continue to play important confirmatory and public-health roles.