COVID-19 and dengue: a deadly duo
Raiiq Ridwan
Abstract
While COVID-19 wreaks havoc across the world, countries in South and South-East Asia and Latin America are faced with the prospect of a second epidemic: dengue. Further complicating the picture is that the early signs and symptoms of dengue and COVID-19 could be similar, making it a risk that patients may be wrongly diagnosed early in the course of disease. This is confounded further by a report from Singapore of false-positive dengue antibody testing in two COVID-19 patients, and the presence of co-infection of dengue and COVID-19 in Thailand. Unless urgent measures are taken, there is a risk that dengue and COVID-19 could overwhelm healthcare systems across multiple countries.
Topics & Concepts
Dengue feverMedicineCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakLatin AmericansSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Dengue virusPandemicDiseaseVirologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)OutbreakPathologyPhilosophyLinguisticsMosquito-borne diseases and controlCOVID-19 epidemiological studiesViral Infections and Vectors