COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has spread globally. Coinfection with other endemic viruses is likely to complicate the clinical presentation and outcome. Information on clinical manifestations and management strategies on COVID-19 coinfection with endemic diseases in children is yet to evolve. The risk of dengue infection exists in 129 countries and it is endemic in more than 100 countries. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic might overlap with the dengue epidemics in tropical countries. We report the first paediatric case to the best of our knowledge of COVID-19 encephalitis with dengue shock syndrome. This clinical syndrome could be attributed to serological cross-reactivity, incidental coinfection or perhaps a warning for dengue-endemic regions to face the unique challenge of differentiating and managing two disease entities together. Enhanced understanding of potential COVID-19 and dengue coinfection warrants immediate attention of researchers and international health policy makers.
Keywords: coma and raised intracranial pressure; global health; influenza; paediatric intensive care; tropical medicine (infectious disease).
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