Dengue infection during Covid-19 pandemic: A challenge for case management

Dengue during corona pandemic

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has been caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) that declared as an global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO).^1,2 This ongoing pandemic causes devastation across the world while multiple countries have been facing with another outbreak- Dengue, a known tropical disease.³ Dengue is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral infection, also considered as a major public health concern. During COVID-19 pandemic, the increasing incidence of dengue become a further threat especially in the dengue-endemic countries of Southeast Asia and Latin America.⁴ The global burden of dengue is dynamic,  estimated 50 million real cases per year  across  approximately 100 countries.⁵ Currently, most of the countries are fighting against COVID-19, therefore, further outbreak of dengue has been posed a number of practical challenges to combat the diseases simultaneously.

As dengue cases have been increased during Covid-19 pandemic, both SARS‑CoV‑2 and dengue viruses are co-existing and co-circulating in the environment. Consequently, patients with SARS‑CoV‑2 and dengue co-infection has been reported recently in several countries like Singapore, Thailand, India, and Bangladesh.^6-9 Hence, it is speculated that the co-infection cases will be increased and found in another countries in the upcoming days when dengue season goes in its peak. Currently, multiple countries in South America like Brazil, Paraguay, Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia are suffering seriously from co-epidemics of dengue and Covid-19.⁴

Bangladesh Med Res Counc Bull 2020; 46(2): 145-146