A woman dubbed the “world’s hottest” scientist has shared her diagnosis of a potentially “deadly” mosquito-borne disease.
In a video on Instagram, ecologist Rosie Moore told her 192,000 followers she had contracted dengue fever while traveling in South America.
Dengue is a viral infection spread by two species of mosquito that manifests in flu-like symptoms, including sudden fever (that can last for as long as six days), severe headaches, swollen glands, extreme fatigue, and a faint red rash on the upper body. While severe dengue fever is rare, complications can be fatal.
In her video, Moore explained she’d discovered “a ton” of “bug bites” early in her trip, “but I didn’t really start feeling weird until a few days in” (which is typical for the onset of dengue).
Her first symptom was “extreme” eye pain, followed by a “fever … so high that I genuinely could not get out of bed and I was trying to cool myself down by any means possible”.
Upon returning to the US, Moore’s body broke out in a “really crazy rash” – which ultimately is what prompted her to get tested for dengue, for which she returned a positive result.
“There is no specific treatment for dengue, and while it can be fatal, most cases are less severe,” Ms Moore continued in the video’s caption.
“I had many symptoms before being diagnosed, such as loss of appetite (we would hike 5-12 miles a day, and I was unable to get a single meal down for days), eye pain, chills, and fever.
“I was hesitant to share this because I feel like so many people are scared to travel to more remote places, but the trip was so worth it, and I would encourage anyone to get out there and see more remote places of the world.”
Asked by one of her followers what her recovery had been like, Moore said hers was “probably worse because I was doing such extreme physical activity when I didn’t feel well.”
“But I didn’t have any energy for like 2 weeks to the point it was hard for me to just walk,” she added.
