Fever-Causing Diseases by Geographic Area
Geographic Area |
Fever-Causing Diseases to Consider |
Usual Incubation Period |
Incubation Period (Range) |
| Caribbean | Chikungunya | 2 - 4 days | 1 - 14 days |
| Dengue | 4 - 8 days | 3 - 14 days | |
| Malaria (Haiti/Dominican Republic, primarily P. falciparum) | 6 - 30 days | 98% have onset within 3 months of travel | |
| Zika | 4 - 6 days | 3 - 14 days | |
| Histoplasmosis |
- | - | |
| Leptospirosis | 7 - 12 days | 2 - 26 days | |
| Central America | Chikungunya | 2 - 4 days | 1 - 14 days |
| Dengue | 4 - 8 days | 3 - 14 days | |
| Malaria (Haiti/Dominican Republic, primarily P. falciparum) | 8 days - 12 months | Approx. 50% have onset > 30 days after completion of travel | |
| Typhoid or paratyphoid fever | 7 - 18 days | 3 - 60 days | |
| Zika | 4 - 6 days | 3 - 14 days | |
| Coccidiomycosis | - | - | |
| Histoplasmosis | - | - | |
| Leishmaniasis | 2 - 10 months | 10 days to years | |
| Leptospirosis | 7 - 12 days | 2 - 26 days | |
| South America | Chikungunya | 2 - 4 days | 1 - 14 days |
| Dengue | 4 - 8 days | 3 - 14 days | |
| Malaria (primarily P. vivax) | 8 days - 12 months | Approx. 50% have onset > 30 days after completion of travel | |
| Zika | 4 - 6 days | 3 - 14 days | |
| Bartonellosis | - | - | |
| Histoplasmosis | - | - | |
| Leptospirosis | 7 - 12 days | 2 - 26 days | |
| Yellow fever | - | - | |
| South Central Asia | Dengue | 4 - 8 days | 4 - 8 days |
| Malaria (primarily non-P. falciparum) | 12 to 40 days | Up to 12 months | |
| Chikungunya | 2 - 4 days | 1 - 14 days | |
| Leptospirosis | 7 - 12 days | 2 - 26 days | |
| Scrub typhus | - | - | |
| Southeast Asia | Dengue | 4 - 8 days | 3 - 14 days |
| Malaria (primarily P. vivax) | 12 to 40 days | Up to 12 months | |
| Chikungunya | 2 - 4 days | 1 - 14 days | |
| Leptospirosis | 7 - 12 days | 2 - 26 days | |
| Scrub typhus | - | - | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | Dengue | 4 - 8 days | 3 - 14 days |
| Malaria (primarily P. falciparum) | 6 - 30 days | 98% have onset within 3 months of travel | |
| Tick-borne rickettsia (main cause of fever in southern Africa) | Few days to 2 - 3 weeks | - | |
| Schistosomiasis, acute | - | 4 - 8 weeks | |
| Chikungunya | 2 - 4 days | 1 - 14 days | |
| Meningococcal disease | - | - | |
| Trypanosomiasis, African | - | - | |
| Typhoid or paratyphoid fever | 7 - 18 days | 3-60 days | |
| Yellow fever | - | - | |
| Adapted from Tables 10.1.2 - 10.1.5 in the CDC Yellow Book. Huits, R., Hamer, D. H., & Libman, M. (2025). Post-travel evaluation of the ill traveler. In Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Ed.), CDC Yellow Book: Health information for international travel 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/yellow-book/hcp/post-travel-evaluation/post-travel-evaluation-of-the-ill-traveler.html |
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These pathways do not establish a standard of care to be followed in every case. It is recognized that each case is different, and those individuals involved in providing health care are expected to use their judgment in determining what is in the best interests of the patient based on the circumstances existing at the time. It is impossible to anticipate all possible situations that may exist and to prepare a pathway for each. Accordingly, these pathways should guide care with the understanding that departures from them may be required at times.