Occurrence of 4 Dengue Virus Serotypes and Chikungunya Virus in Kilombero Valley, Tanzania, During the Dengue Outbreak in 2018 (original) (raw)

Occurrence of Four Dengue Virus Serotypes and Chikungunya Virus in Kilombero, Tanzania during Dengue Outbreak in 2018

2020

BackgroundDengue and Chikungunya viruses can cause large-scale epidemics with attack rates exceeding 80%. In Tanzania, there have been repeated outbreaks of dengue fever, the most recent one in 2018 and 2019 mostly reported in coastal areas. Despite its importance, there is limited knowledge on epidemiology of dengue (DENV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) in Tanzania. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of DENV and CHIKV in Kilombero district, South-Eastern Tanzania.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at Kibaoni Health Center, in Kilombero district, in the rainy and dry seasons of 2018. Febrile patients of any age and gender were enrolled. Blood samples were taken and screened for DENV and CHIKV viral RNA by real-time RT-PCR assays.ResultsA total of 294 patients were recruited. Most were females (65%), and aged between 14⍰25 years (33%). DENV and CHIKV were detected in 29 (9.9%) and 3 (1.0%) patients, respectively. DENV was detected across all age groups and duri...

Evidence of Chikungunya but not Dengue Virus Circulating among Febrile Patients during Low Transmission Period in Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

International Journal of TROPICAL DISEASE & Health, 2020

Background: There is currently sufficient evidence available indicating that dengue and chikungunya viruses could be among the causes of fever in Tanzania. Overlapping clinical manifestations of chikungunya and dengue with other vector-borne parasitic diseases pose a challenge for medical diagnosis in Tanzania. A virus surveillance study was conducted in Morogoro Municipality which had no reports of outbreaks during high risk of transmission with dengue epidemics in the neighbouring Dar es Salaam. Methodology: The present study was carried out to screen for dengue (DENV) and chikungunya (CHIKV) in sera from patients with fever and malaria-like symptoms on selected health centres in Morogoro municipality (n = 5) during March-May 2018. Three hundred and twelve febrile individuals presenting to the outpatient department were screened for the presence of chikungunya and dengue viruses using Multiplex real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results: Acute CHIKV infecti...

Chikungunya, Dengue and West Nile Virus Infections in Northern Tanzania

Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research

Aim: We aimed at determine the prevalence of Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), Dengue virus (DENV) and West Nile virus (WNV) in Bondo and Magugu wards in Handeni and Babati districts in Northern Tanzania, in a cross sectional analytical study. Study Design: This was cross sectional, community based study involving individuals aged 1-80 years of age. Reverse transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect arboviruses in whole blood samples. Data was analyzed using SPSS 22.0. Chi square and logistic regression analyses were used to determine associations of explanatory factors and arbovirus infection. Results: Out of 128 participants recruited, 10 (7.8%) and 1 (0.8 %) were positive for CHIKV and DENV, respectively. None of the participants recruited was positive for WNV. Most cases of arboviruses were detected in Magugu with 8 (12.31%) and 1 (1.54%) individuals being positive for CHIKV and DENV respectively. Male sex was associated with CHIKV infection (χ2=9.126,

Co-circulation of Dengue Virus Serotypes 1 and 3 during the 2019 epidemic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

BackgroundDengue is an important mosquito-borne viral disease in tropical and sub-tropical countries. In this study molecular characterization was carried out to determine dengue viruses circulating among patients at health facilities during 2019 epidemic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.MethodsThe study involved outpatients seeking care for febrile illness at four health facilities in Kinondoni and Ilala Districts of Dar es Salaam City in Tanzania. A total of 45 sera from the outpatients were confirmed dengue-positive for dengue virus (DENV) non-structural protein 1 (NS1) antigen and/or NS1-IgG/IgM antibodies using on-site rapid test. The presence of the virus was detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. Of the 45 sera, 20 samples were selected randomly for identification of specific dengue virus serotypes using RT-PCR followed by evaluation of resulting amplicons on agarose gel electrophoresis.Findings and significanceBoth Dengue virus serotypes 1 (DE...

Chikungunya and dengue virus infection among febrile children in North-Eastern Tanzania: prospective study

2020

Background There are several unknown illnesses including chikungunya and dengue viruses that present with fever in children. Therefore there are many cases that are misdiagnosed. Consequently we performed a study to determine the clinical characteristics of dengue and chikungunya in order to assist clinicians in management. Methods A total of 196 children with history of fever for ≤ 10 days were enrolled prospectively at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre from September 2015 to May 2016. All cases were screened for chikungunya and dengue viruses by PCR as well as other febrile illnesses such as malaria, bacteria and HIV through other diagnostic method. We performed logistic regression to find association between clinical symptoms and chikungunya infection. Results In our study, 21.9% (43/196) of the cases received laboratory investigations and the diagnoses were as follows; malaria only (n = 1, 0.5%), bacterial infections only (n = 4, 2.0%), HIV/AIDS only (n = 37, 18.9%), as well ...

2016-Debora-Chilongola dengue.pdf

Background: In spite of increasing reports of dengue and chikungunya activity in Tanzania, limited research has been done to document the general epidemiology of dengue and chikungunya in the country. This study aimed at determining the sero-prevalence and prevalence of acute infections of dengue and chikungunya virus among participants presenting with malaria-like symptoms (fever, headache, rash, vomit, and joint pain) in three communities with distinct ecologies of north-eastern Tanzania. Methods: Cross sectional studies were conducted among 1100 participants (aged 2-70 years) presenting with malaria-like symptoms at health facilities at Bondo dispensary (Bondo, Tanga), Hai hospital (Hai, Kilimanjaro) and TPC hospital (Lower Moshi). Participants who were malaria negative using rapid diagnostic tests (mRDT) were screened for sero-positivity towards dengue and chikungunya Immunoglobulin G and M (IgG and IgM) using ELISA-based kits. Participants with specific symptoms defined as probable dengue and/or chikungunya by WHO (fever and various combinations of symptoms such as headache, rash, nausea/vomit, and joint pain) were further screened for acute dengue and chikungunya infections by PCR. Results: Out of a total of 1100 participants recruited, 91.2 % (n = 1003) were malaria negative by mRDT. Out of these, few of the participants (<5 %) were dengue IgM or IgG positive. A total of 381 participants had fever out of which 8.7 % (33/381) met the defined criteria for probable dengue, though none (0 %) was confirmed to be acute cases. Chikungunya IgM positives among febrile participants were 12.9 % (49/381) while IgG positives were at 3.7 % (14/381). A total of 74.2 % (283/381) participants met the defined criteria for probable chikungunya and 4.2 % (11/263) were confirmed by PCR to be acute chikungunya cases. Further analyses revealed that headache and joint pain were significantly associated with chikungunya IgM seropositivity. Conclusion: In north-eastern Tanzania, mainly chikungunya virus appears to be actively circulating in the population. Continuous surveillance is needed to determine the contribution of viral infections of fever cases. A possible establishment of arboviral vector preventive control measures and better diagnosis of pathogens to avoid over-treatment of other diseases should be considered.

Individual and environmental risk factors for dengue and chikungunya seropositivity in North-Eastern Tanzania

Infection, Disease & Health

Background: Dengue and chikungunya are mosquito-borne viral diseases of major global health concern. In Tanzania, information on risk factors for dengue and chikungunya is limited. We investigated individual, household, socioeconomic , demographic and environmental risk factors for dengue and chikungunya seropositivity. Methods: A cross sectional study was undertaken which included a total of 1003 participants from NorthEastern Tanzania, to determine the sero-prevalence of dengue and chikungunya and to investigate associated risk factors. Logistic regression models were used to determine the risk factors for dengue and chikungunya seropositivity. Results: Environmental factors such as living in a house with uncovered containers within the compound had higher odds of being chikungunya IgM seropositive (OR Z 2.89; 95% CI: 1.76 e4.76). Also, participants who kept hoofed animals in their home and who lived in a house