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Apr 13, 2023 · Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to spread mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks.
- Overview
- Dengue symptoms
- COVID-19 measures
- What was the effect?
A recent study has demonstrated that physical distancing measures resulted in a significant increase in reported cases of dengue in Thailand but unchanged rates in Malaysia and Singapore.
Dengue is transmitted to humans through the bite of certain species of Aedes mosquitos that carry one of the virus’s four serotypes: dengue viruses 1–4. These mosquitos mostly inhabit subtropical and tropical places worldwide, including some hot, humid parts of the United States.
Globally, dengue is commonplace in more than 100 countries, with 40% of the world’s population living in at-risk areas. Outbreaks of the disease are a significant health problem in the Caribbean, Africa, the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East.
Approximately 400 million individuals worldwide contract dengue each year. About 1 in 4 people develop a resulting illness, with 22,000 individuals dying from severe disease anually.
Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region are disproportionately burdened by dengue, with 75% of the cases arising in these countries.
In Southeast Asia, all four serotypes of the dengue virus are in active circulation, causing multiple outbreaks, which can be persistent, each year. In Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, the activity of all four serotypes results in substantial increases in dengue cases.
With an initial infection, a person usually either has no symptoms or mild ones. Subsequent infections with a different serotype increase the risk of severe disease.
Severe dengue is a medical emergency and can cause internal bleeding, shock, and sometimes death.
Mild cases of dengue cause a fever accompanied by a rash, nausea, and sometimes vomiting. Often, there is pain in the muscles, joints, bones, and behind the eyes.
Warning signs of severe dengue usually begin 24–48 hours after the fever resolves. People with any of the following symptoms require immediate medical attention:
• abdominal tenderness and pain
• bleeding from the gums or nose
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide have implemented physical distancing measures to reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the disease.
Government agencies strictly enforced near-complete lockdowns in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand for 2–3 months before gradually loosening physical distancing measures.
The effects of reduced mobility and having fewer people in workplaces on dengue transmission are unknown. For this reason, lead study author Jue Tao Lim, Ph.D., and colleagues at the National University of Singapore conducted a study to measure the impact on dengue virus case numbers in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.
The study, which appears in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, examined dengue case counts from national surveillance data and data from the World Health Organization’s Institutional Repository for Information Sharing. The data run from 2010 for Thailand and Malaysia and from 2012 for Singapore through to mid-2020.
The team also factored in the start and end dates of physical distancing measures and their strictness, using information from local and national government news websites.
In addition, the study incorporated population census data reported from 2010 to 2020 for Thailand and from 2010 to 2019 for Singapore and Malaysia using national data sources.
In 2019, the average number of reported dengue cases per 10,000 individuals was 1.15, 2.15, and 0.31 in Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia, respectively.
After controlling for time trend and climate seasonality, the number of dengue cases increased significantly — by 0.431 cases per 10,000 individuals per province in Thailand after the introduction of physical distancing.
The expected absolute increase in the average number of dengue cases each month in each province of Thailand was 26.1, with the highest average number of additional cases, in Bangkok, being 171 and the lowest, in Samut Sakhon, a city in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region, being 5.8. Unlike in Thailand, physical distancing measures did not significantly affect the number of dengue cases in Singapore or Malaysia.
Although transmission in workplaces is possible, dengue predominantly transmits through exposure in the home. There is a greater risk of contracting dengue in urban and rural areas with low-rise residential buildings and more drainage networks.
The researchers explained, “Across country disparities in social distancing policy, effects on reported dengue cases are reasoned to be driven by differences in workplace-residence structure, with an increase in transmission risk of arboviruses from social distancing primarily through heightened exposure to vectors in elevated time spent at residences.”
Limitations of the study include the possibility of underreporting cases due to fear of leaving one’s home to seek medical treatment and the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare systems.
Aug 2, 2021 · COVID-19 and dengue co-infection was associated with severe disease and fatal outcomes. The correct diagnosis and treatment of co-infection poses a substantial challenge due to the overlapping clinical and laboratory parameters. Therefore, confirmative diagnostic tests are necessary for accurate and timely diagnosis and patient management.
- Tsheten Tsheten, Tsheten Tsheten, Archie C. A. Clements, Archie C. A. Clements, Darren J. Gray, Ripo...
- 10.1186/s12879-021-06409-9
- 2021
- BMC Infect Dis. 2021; 21: 729.
Aug 2, 2021 · 26k Accesses. 51 Citations. 28 Altmetric. Metrics. Abstract. Background. Dengue is the most common arboviral disease in the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Like other regions, dengue-endemic areas have faced the additional public health and socio-economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
- Tsheten Tsheten, Tsheten Tsheten, Archie C. A. Clements, Archie C. A. Clements, Darren J. Gray, Ripo...
- 2021
Jul 3, 2022 · Although the entry routes of the SARS-CoV-2 and the dengue virus (DENV) are different, both infections result in a systemic infection, with some similar clinical presentations such as fever, headache, myalgia and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Apr 13, 2023 · Dengue viruses are spread to people through the bites of infected mosquitoes, mainly Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Signs i i and Symptoms. COVID-19. Coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2.
