Woman becomes first Singaporean to be diagnosed with both dengue and coronavirus

The 57-year-old was initially admitted as a dengue patient at a hospital in the city state but was later confirmed to be infected with the pathogen

Even as Singapore grapples with the virus outbreak, dengue cases have been on the rise recently

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Visitors walk along the Marina Bay walkway in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:38am, 21 Feb 2020Updated: 2:54pm, 25 Feb 2020

A 57-year-old woman is Singapore’s first patient known to be infected with both the coronavirus and the mosquito-borne dengue fever, the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed on Thursday.

A ministry spokesperson said the woman was not misdiagnosed with dengue, but that she is the only confirmed case in Singapore of a person having both diseases at once.

Referred to as case 82, the Singaporean woman was initially admitted as a dengue patient at a general ward at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) on February 15. She lives in the Jurong West Street 41 area.

Test results confirmed the woman was infected with Covid-19 on Tuesday, and she was immediately transferred to an isolation room at the hospital.

As a precautionary measure, the patients who shared the room with her while she was in the general ward have been transferred to single rooms. They have been tested for Covid-19 infection and as of Wednesday, the results are pending.