Abstract

Dengue-Induced Mucormycosis: Metamorphosis in the COVID-19 Age. COVID-induced immunosuppression resulted in an unprecedented outbreak of mucormycosis, a grave opportunistic infection by fungi. SARS-CoV-2 and dengue virus may coexist in tropical countries like India. They are studied to have converging clinical, pathophysiological and immunological properties, thereby resulting in potential interactions between them. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 may augment Dengue virus infection by utilizing ADE, a phenomenon in which antibodies produced in the body after infection or vaccination may enhance subsequent viral infections and secondary complications such as mucormycosis. Two such cases of mucormycosis in association with dengue are presented here. Hence, COVID-19 age may observe a metamorphosis in viral disease presentations as perhaps with Dengue virus.