The impact of COVID-19 followed by extreme flooding on vector borne diseases in Pakistan: A mini narrative review

Zainab Syyeda Rahmat; Mahnoor Sadiq; Laiba Imran Vohra; Hamid Ullah; Mohammad Yasir Essar

doi:10.1016/j.nmni.2022.101075

The impact of COVID-19 followed by extreme flooding on vector borne diseases in Pakistan: A mini narrative review

New Microbes New Infect. 2023 Jan:51:101075. doi: 10.1016/j.nmni.2022.101075. Epub 2022 Dec 27.

Authors

Zainab Syyeda Rahmat¹, Mahnoor Sadiq¹, Laiba Imran Vohra², Hamid Ullah¹, Mohammad Yasir Essar³

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Pakistan.
² Faculty of Medicine, Ziauddin University, Pakistan.
³ Kabul University of Medical Sciences, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Abstract

While the Coronavirus pandemic continues to spread havoc across the world, countries like Pakistan are faced with another challenge: the steady rise of vector borne diseases alongside a spike in COVID-19 cases. Moreover, signs and clinical manifestations of multiple arbovirus infections mimic those experienced in COVID-19, causing further complications in management and diagnosis. Without urgent adequate management and testing equipment, the recent surge of COVID-19 along with the steady rise in Vector Borne Diseases (VBDs) could collapse the exhausted Pakistani healthcare system. This article explores the impact of COVID-19 on the management, diagnosis, and treatment of the common arbovirus infections of Pakistan, including dengue (DENV), malaria, chikungunya (CHIKV), and other foreign infections that are on a hazardous rise.

Keywords: COVID-19; Chikungunya; Pakistan; dengue; malaria; vector-borne diseases.

Publication types

Review