When is COVID-19 not COVID-19? Staying vigilant in travel health

Imagine this scenario if you will:

A third party telephones the practice to report a lady in her 40’s and her son (under 10 years of age) who appear to be both extremely unwell. They are concerned and ask you to review them. The GP on call telephones the patient, but unfortunately English is not her first language, and communication is difficult. What are your thoughts about differential diagnoses?

At this precise moment in time you will be thinking, COVID-19, but what if it wasn’t Spring 2020, but Autumn 2009? You might have been thinking, H1N1 ‘Swine flu’, but what about summer 2014?