Dengue & COVID-19: A Comparison and the Challenges at Hand

Cureus. 2022 Nov 25;14(11):e31877. doi: 10.7759/cureus.31877. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 spread across many countries between 2020 and 2022. The similarities in clinical presentation with other endemic diseases pose a challenge to physicians in effectively diagnosing and treating the infection. Approximately 129 nations have a risk of dengue infection, and more than 100 of those are endemic to dengue. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of dengue cases decreased in many countries owing to the isolation measures followed. However, the common clinical presentation between them has led to misdiagnosis. Both COVID-19 and dengue fever cause a surge in pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, thus sharing a common pathophysiology. False positive serological test results also posed difficulty differentiating between COVID-19 and dengue fever. This review aims to compare the clinical features, pathophysiology, and immune response between dengue and COVID-19, to benefit public health management during the pandemic.

Keywords: antibody-dependent enhancement (ade); covid-19; dengue virus infection; interleukins; rt-pcr (real time - reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction).

Publication types

  • Review