A Yorkshire woman has been quarantined after contracting the ‘scary’ virus in Bali

A harrowing experience happened to a British holidaymaker who was left “terrified” after contracting a tropical virus on her return from Bali.

Emma Cox, 27, enjoyed a 10-day break in Gili, Bali, before being struck down by debilitating muscle and joint pain, an extensive rash and a severe headache. Originally planning to stay until August, the severity of her symptoms forced her to cut her trip short and fly back to Nine Elms, south-west London, on 17 May.

After experiencing flu-like symptoms, Emma contacted the NHS 111 service and was promptly directed to A&E. There, she was quarantined by medical staff and diagnosed with dengue fever, a virus transmitted through mosquito bites that poses a threat to travelers from regions such as Africa, Asia, South America and the Pacific Islands.

Alarmingly, health professionals are now seeing an increase in dengue cases in European areas, including Croatia, Portugal and France. Emma endured an hour-long hospital stay for blood tests and described feeling “horrendous” and expressed her eagerness to get vaccinated before starting future travels.

READ MORE Amazon shoppers now grab a ‘quality’ Samsonite suitcase for 30% off

Emma, ​​a content creator from Wakefield, recounted her ordeal: “The virus gave me a rash that spread all over my body – I felt awful and thought it would never go away. I almost felt like the doctors didn’t. I don’t know exactly what to make of it – they saw it as a contagious, tropical disease. I knew it was spread by mosquitoes, so I wasn’t too worried about infecting anyone else.

Her journey began on May 6, 2024, when she arrived at Gili, often called the “party island” of Indonesia. Working as a “digital nomad”, she had planned to spend a few weeks creating content for villas and beach clubs in the local area.

However, just five days into the trip, she began to feel sick, initially attributing it to the air conditioning. She explained: “In my room, the glass on the window was cracked and there was a big hole in it. It sounds so stupid, but I couldn’t see it – because it was covered by a curtain.”

“But every night as I sat there I would wake up covered in bites. The only precaution I really took was to spray myself with repellent.” On May 11, Emma woke up with muscle aches, joint pain and a burning sensation behind her eyes. She felt exhausted, but too restless to sleep.

Her headaches were so severe that she had to wear sunglasses in the house all day. She continued: “At first, I blamed it on the air conditioning. My next thought was “oh my god, I’m going to have to spend 23 hours flying home”. I really thought I had the flu and expected it. to go fast enough”.

Emma arranged to fly home on May 17 and by then, her symptoms seemed to be gone. She felt well enough to travel and did not consider it necessary to see a doctor on her return to the UK. She said: “The symptoms are gone. I was absolutely fine – I thought I must have got away with it.”

Emma had no symptoms for two days, but on the third day, she woke up to find a rash covering her body. She said: “It was so weird, I felt good about myself. But I woke up with bumps all over my body – I’ve never seen anything like it. They were really itchy and kept spreading. My followers—many of whom had backpacked through Asia—recognized that it might be dengue. They told me to call 111.”

On May 21, Emma called 911, who advised her to go straight to A&E. Upon arrival and explaining his symptoms, including the fact that he had just returned from Bali, the doctors asked him to self-isolate immediately. They asked him to stay in a room while they assessed his condition.

“They put me on an IV and together we came up with a complete timeline of every place we visited,” she said. “I did blood tests for lots of things – like malaria and HIV. He felt they didn’t really know how to treat someone with dengue. I was there for an hour and they told me, because I didn’t look fatal, I could go home. They checked on me by phone once a day for seven days.”

Her rash cleared up on its own in eight days. She was advised to get the Qdenga vaccine – which protects against four strains of the virus – at her local private clinic.

Emma revealed: “I had loads of shots before I went to Bali and Thailand. I was going back and forth to my family doctor and private clinics last year. Dengue is definitely a scary disease and I am looking at getting Qdenga for the next time I visit Bali.”