Increased Dengue Transmissions in Singapore Attributable to SARS-CoV-2 Social Distancing Measures

Social distancing (SD) measures aimed at curbing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 remain an important public health intervention. Little is known about the collateral impact of reduced mobility on the risk of other communicable diseases. We used differences in dengue case counts pre- and post implementation of SD measures and exploited heterogeneity in SD treatment effects among different age groups in Singapore to identify the spillover effects of SD measures. SD policy caused an increase of over 37.2% in dengue cases from baseline. Additional measures to preemptively mitigate the risk of other communicable diseases must be considered before the implementation/reimplementation of SARS-CoV-2 SD measures.

Automated summary

Social distancing measures aimed at curbing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 led to a over 37.2% increase in dengue cases, highlighting the need to consider additional measures to preemptively mitigate the risk of other communicable diseases before the implementation/reimplementation of SARS-CoV-2 SD measures.