Risks of Simultaneous Coinfection of Dengue and COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Challenges and Recommendations

Authors

Md. Sahidur Rahman^{1, *,} , Tazrina Rahman^{1, 2}

¹Department of Research and Innovation, One Health Center for Research and Action, D/137, Bishaw Bank R/A, Akbarshah, Chattogram 4207, Bangladesh

²Department of Microbiology and Virology, Chattogram Medical College Hospital, Chakbazar, Chattogram 4203, Bangladesh

^*Corresponding author. Email: sahid.dvm@gmail.com

DOI

10.2991/dsahmj.k.201124.001How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Challenges; coepidemic; coinfection; COVID-19; dengue fever; healthcare facility

Abstract

The current global Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is compounding on populations susceptible to tropical illnesses such as dengue in different developing countries such as Bangladesh. The growing concern is that Bangladesh is a dengue-endemic zone and the peak transmission occurs in the monsoon season (June to October). In the most recent monsoon, a total of 354 dengue cases have been confirmed until July 27, 2020, data-driven from only 41 hospitals alone. A 53-year-old male patient was found to be coinfected with COVID-19 and dengue fever in Bangladesh. Concerns arise as hospitals are increasingly denying admission to patients. Moreover, reports of false-positive results in dengue screening tests recorded in different countries further exacerbate the issue. These conditions could postpone the early diagnosis of COVID-19 cases and aggravate the situation. In addition, the overwhelming wave of dengue cases would be a challenge for the vulnerable healthcare system of the country, which is already under strain because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Failure to establish and implement proper policies might lead to dengue outbreak with the burdens of the concurrent COVID pandemic, resulting in the collapse of the health and social systems, as well as the economic growth of the country.

Copyright

© 2020 Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Group. Publishing services by Atlantis Press International B.V.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - JOUR
AU  - Md. Sahidur Rahman
AU  - Tazrina Rahman
PY  - 2020
DA  - 2020/11/30
TI  - Risks of Simultaneous Coinfection of Dengue and COVID-19 in Bangladesh: Challenges and Recommendations
JO  - Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal
SP  - 137
EP  - 139
VL  - 2
IS  - 4
SN  - 2590-3349
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/dsahmj.k.201124.001
DO  - 10.2991/dsahmj.k.201124.001
ID  - Rahman2020
ER  -