A British tourist who thought she got heat stroke from spending too long in the sun was diagnosed with a deadly tropical virus that disguises itself as the flu. Serenity Tanner, 20, started to feel unwell after a day of surfing in the Philippines. She put her symptoms down to heat stroke , but started vomiting in the middle of the night.
The 20-year-old was rushed to a local medical centre by a neighbour, as she started to hallucinate and began bleeding from her gums. She was diagnosed with dengue fever , a viral infection spread by mosquito bites that's most common in tropical climates. Serenity was told that she would need to be flown by plane to the mainland for treatment and was taken to Makati Medical Centre, Manila, Philippines.
Read more on dengue She spent 12 days in hospital battling the virus. After being discharged, Serenity flew back to the UK on August 19, 2024, and said she is still suffering from fatigue and brain fog . Serenity, a student, from Warminster, Wiltshire, said: "I put it down to heat stroke - I thought I had been in the sun for too long.
"Even now it has been weeks and I still feel the effects of the virus. Most read in Health "I still have brain fog and feel tired all the time. "I feel so weak, it was like I had been hit by a truck.
"I have had sepsis before and this was worse than that - it was horrendous. "Physically I felt so weak - I was barely able to stand up." On Friday 19, 2024, Serenity spent the day surfing with her boyfriend, Melvin Mal.