Covid-19 and dengue at the same time

 

Latin America is experiencing one of the largest dengue epidemics ever recorded in the region. Brazil, heavily affected by the Covid-19 epidemic, for example, has reported more than 1 million cases and about 400 deaths attributed to dengue between January and June 2020. The departments of Mayotte and Guyana - which are still facing significant circulation of SARS-CoV-2 - are also in a worrying situation.

 

Significant dengue epidemics, with more than 30,000 cases reported in the Indian Ocean islands since 2017 (Mayotte and Reunion) and more than 15,000 cases in the Caribbean islands (Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, and Martinique) since late 2019.

 

Temperate regions of the northern hemisphere (United States and Europe), particularly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, are also at risk for these arboviroses during the summer, in areas where the vector mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and/or Aedes albopictus are established. For example, indigenous transmission of dengue was detected this summer in France, in the Hérault department. In the United States, about 20 cases have been reported in Florida.

 

The simultaneous circulation of Covid-19 and dengue fever can lead to delayed diagnosis, and thus impact care and measures specific to each of these two diseases.

 

As both infections share certain clinical features (fever, fatigue, headache, etc.), a differential diagnosis is necessary.

 

In addition, there is concern about false-positive dengue serology results in people with Covid-19. Every effort must be made to avoid misdiagnosis or misinterpretation of tests, which can have dramatic consequences for both patients and public health interventions (e.g., contact tracing and screening for Covid-19, and insect vector control for dengue).

 

These co-infections are naturally only to be feared in countries where both viruses are circulating. At present, Guyana has reported the death of a teenager with Covid-19 and yellow fever. Co-infection with dengue virus and SARS-CoV-2 has so far only been documented sporadically, notably in Thailand, Singapore and Reunion Island. However, it is feared in the most dengue-affected countries in Southeast Asia and South America.

 

And in countries such as Brazil, where health services are still disrupted or even overwhelmed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the coexistence of the two diseases aggravates the situation. In addition, several dengue serotypes may be circulating at the same time, as is the case in French Guiana and Reunion Island, which may lead to secondary or even tertiary infections and thus to serious clinical cases.

 

Epidemiological surveillance of dengue is also affected by the mobilization around Covid-19

 

Source: Voyages Responsables

Traduction: DEEL Translater