For a patient recently returned from a tropical country in intensive care, the leading hypothesis for a fever leading to multiple organ failure is evidently malaria. Nonetheless, many other causes are possible and should be considered: parasites, viruses, and bacteria. A multidisciplinary discussion between specialists in emergency medicine, radiology, pathology, and infectious diseases is essential to start appropriate treatment as quickly as possible without impairing the patient's prognosis.
Keywords: rickettsial disease; scrub typhus; septic shock.