‘I thought it was just the flu’: 27-year-old influencer reveals how she dismissed symptoms of dengue fever on a dream holiday, as mosquito virus threatens to hit Olympics in France [Video]

05:29 EDT 13 Jun 2024, updated 03:17 EDT 14 Jun 2024

A tourist on a dream Bali holiday thought she had just fallen ill with the flu, but it turned out to be potentially life-threatening dengue. 

Emma Cox, 27, had been on the tropical island in Indonesia for just 10 days before coming down with muscle and joint pain and a severe headaches so painful she had to wear sunglasses indoors.

Urgently booking a flight home to the UK, she developed a full body rash shortly following her arrival and the ‘terrified’ West Yorkshire-native rushed to A&E where medics confirmed she had been infected with the mosquito-borne virus. 

‘The virus gave me a rash that spread right across my body — I felt horrendous, and thought it wasn’t ever going to go away,’ she said. 

Experts warn Ms Cox’s experience could be coming much closer to home with the dengue cases having exploded in Europe as the mosquitos which carry the …