Concurrent bacteraemia in patients with dengue fever is rarely reported. We report a case of a patient who initially presented with symptoms typical of dengue fever but later succumbed to septic shock caused by hypervirulent methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). A 50-year-old female patient with hypertension and diabetes mellitus presented with typical symptoms of dengue fever. Upon investigation, the patient reported having prolonged fever for four days prior to hospitalization. Within 24 hours post-admission, the patient developed pneumonia and refractory shock, and ultimately succumbed to multiple-organs failure. Microbiological examination of the blood culture retrieved a pan susceptible MSSA strain. Genomic sequence analyses of the MSSA strain identified genes encoding staphylococcal superantigens (enterotoxin staphylococcal enterotoxin C 3 (SEC3) and enterotoxin-like staphylococcal enterotoxins-like toxin L (SElL)) that have been associated with toxic shock syndrome in human hosts. Genes encoding important toxins (Panton-Valentine leukocidins, alpha-haemolysin, protein A) involved in the development of staphylococcal pneumonia were also present in the MSSA genome. Staphylococcus aureus co-infections in dengue are uncommon but could be exceptionally fatal if caused by a toxin-producing strain. Clinicians should be aware of the risks and signs of sepsis in dengue fever, thus allowing early diagnosis and starting of antibiotic treatment in time to lower the mortality and morbidity rates.
Keywords: MSSA; Staphylococcus aureus; bacteremia; dengue; infectious disease.