Thread by @ejustin46

EMERGENCE of some SARS-CoV-2 VARIANTS Are INDUCED by CO-INFECTIONS With DENGUE 😨😨😨

This could be one of the most significant ticking time bomb 💣💣💣
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/11…

2) This study examined how co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and dengue virus can impact the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The key findings are:
- 2% of COVID-19 patients in the study area also had dengue virus infection. These co-infected patients showed more severe symptoms ..

3) ...like headaches and loss of smell/taste.
- Genetic analysis revealed the co-infected patients had significantly more mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus compared to those with COVID-19 alone.

4) - Mathematical modeling estimated that the emergence of the Delta variant required about 9-12 more mutations than earlier variants, while the Omicron variant accumulated about 19 more mutations than Delta.

5) - The increased mutations in co-infected cases suggest the compromised immune system allows the virus to adapt and evolve more easily. This could lead to the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, especially when dengue and COVID-19 are circulating together.

6) - Ongoing monitoring of viral mutations and studying co-infection effects are important to anticipate and prepare for potential future SARS-CoV-2 variant outbreaks.

There are some limitations in this study as the potential underestimation of coinfection prevalence,

7) ...the small coinfection sample size and the limited clinical data.

Thanks for reading 🙏