Dengue and chikungunya co-infection associated with more severe clinical disease than mono-infection

Background: Dengue and chikungunya infections appear to be increasing in India. While Aedies aegypti is the transmitting vector for both viruses and co-infection occurs in the same communities, studies on the clinical significance of co-infection are limited.

 

Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective case-control analysis of consecutive hospitalized patients presenting with febrile illness to the Sassoon General Hospital/BJ Medical College in Pune, India, who were screened for serologic evidence of dengue and chikungunya infection. Fischer’s Exact test and Mann-Whitney test were used to compare mortality and morbidity between patients with dual and mono-infection. Morbidity outcomes included lowest blood pressure (in first 5 days of admission), requirement for intensive care and mechanical ventilation, blood product transfusion requirement, as well as complete blood count.