Mumbai doctors have encountered a handful of curious cases where in Covid-19 positive patients have also tested positive for dengue. With the south-west monsoon season setting in and the threat of viral, bacterial and vector-borne infections raising, could be challenge for doctors.
A Lancet report published in March states that dengue and Covid-19 are difficult to distinguish because of their “shared clinical and laboratory features”.
The report enumerated an example where in two patients in Singapore with false-positive results from rapid serological testing for dengue were later confirmed to have severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection – the causative virus of Covid-19.The research further emphasized the possibility of serious health implications on failing to determine Covid-19 positive case because of a positive dengue rapid test result.
