Dengue fever

About: Dengue fever is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 17463 publications have been published within this topic receiving 485745 citations. The topic is also known as: Dengue & dengue disease.

Seroprevalence of six different viruses among pregnant women and blood donors in rural and urban Burkina Faso: A comparative analysis

Abstract: A seroprevalence study was carried out of six different human pathogenic viruses, namely human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), human herpesvirus type 8 (HHV-8), and dengue virus among pregnant women and blood donors from rural (Nouna) and urban (Ouagadougou) Burkina Faso, West Africa. A total of 683 samples from blood donors (n = 191) and pregnant women (n = 492) were collected from both sites and screened for the different virus infection markers resulting in the following prevalence values for Nouna or Ouagadougou, respectively: HIV 3.6/4.6, anti-HBV core (anti-HBc) 69.6/76.4, HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)14.3/17.3, HCV 2.2/1.5, HTLV 1.4/0.5, HHV-8 11.5/13.5, dengue virus 26.3/36.5. Individuals aged > or =25 years were more likely to be infected with HIV than those below 24 years (P < 0.05). Infection with HIV increased the likelihood of co-infection with other viruses, such as HHV-8, HBV and HTLV. Co-infection studies involving five viruses (HBV-HBsAg, HHV-8, HIV, HCV, and HTLV) showed that 4.8% (33/683) of the studied population were dually infected, with HBsAg+ HHV-8 (13/33), HBsAg+HIV (8/33) and HIV+HHV-8 (8/33) being the most common co-infections. Of the population studied 0.6% (4/683) was triply infected, the most common infection being with HBV+HIV+HHV-8 (3/4). There was no difference in the prevalence of HIV, anti-HBc, HBsAg, HCV, HTLV, and HHV-8 either among blood donors or pregnant women in urban or rural setting, while dengue virus prevalence was relatively lower in rural (26.3%) than in urban (36.5%) Burkina Faso.

Dengue: a review of the laboratory tests a clinician must know to achieve a correct diagnosis

Abstract: Dengue is the most important disease caused by an arbovirus (1, 2, 3 and 4 serotypes) worldwide, especially in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Its clinical manifestations range from asymptomatic infections to a severe disease characterized by hemorrhage and shock. The incidence of dengue virus activity in the Americas has substantially increased from 1980 to 1994. In Brazil, the increase in the incidence of dengue is especially linked to the dissemination of Aedes aegypti. Thus, a rapid and accurate dengue diagnosis is of paramount importance for effective control of dengue outbreaks [8]. Five serological tests have been used for the diagnosis of dengue infection: hemagglutination-inhibition (HI), complement fixation (CF), neutralization test (NT), immunoglobulin M (IgM) capture enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (MAC-ELISA) and indirect immunoglobulin G ELISA. The limitations of these techniques are the high cross-reactivity observed with these tests. Four methods of viral isolation have been routinely used for dengue viruses: intracerebral inoculation of newborn mice, inoculation on mammalian cell cultures, intrathoracic inoculation of adult mosquitoes, and inoculation on mosquito cell cultures. In recent years, several new diagnostic techniques have been developed and have proven very useful in dengue diagnosis, such as: nucleic and acid hybridization, RT-PCR. Currently, dengue diagnosis is based on serology, viral isolation and RNA detection. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are still the most widely used technique for serological diagnosis, but they do not identify the dengue virus serotype responsible for the current infection, so molecular techniques may soon assume a very important role in dengue diagnosis. RT-PCR is definitely the most satisfactory test that can be used on these infections, since it has been shown to be able to detect dengue viruses up to the 10th day after the onset of the symptoms.

Knowledge, awareness and practices regarding dengue fever among the adult population of dengue hit cosmopolitan.

Abstract: Background The World health Organization (WHO) declares dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever to be endemic in South Asia. Despite the magnitude of problem, no documented evidence exists in Pakistan which reveals the awareness and practices of the country's adult population regarding dengue fever, its spread, symptoms, treatment and prevention. This study was conducted to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding dengue fever in people visiting tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. Methods A cross-sectional pilot study was conducted among people visiting tertiary care hospitals in Karachi. Through convenience sampling, a pre-tested and structured questionnaire was administered through a face-to-face unprompted interview with 447 visitors. Knowledge was recorded on a scale of 1–3. Results About 89.9% of individuals interviewed had heard of dengue fever. Sufficient knowledge about dengue was found to be in 38.5% of the sample, with 66% of these in Aga Khan University Hospital and 33% in Civil Hospital Karachi. Literate individuals were relatively more well-informed about dengue fever as compared to the illiterate people (p<0.001). Knowledge based upon preventive measures was found to be predominantly focused towards prevention of mosquito bites (78.3%) rather than eradication of mosquito population (17.3%). Use of anti- mosquito spray was the most prevalent (48.1%) preventive measure. Television was considered as the most important and useful source of information on the disease. Conclusion Adult population of Karachi has adequate knowledge related to the disease ‘dengue’ on isolated aspects, but the overall prevalence of ‘sufficient knowledge’ based on our criteria is poor. We demonstrated adequate prevalence of preventive practices against the disease. Further studies correlating the association between knowledge and its effectiveness against dengue will be helpful in demonstrating the implications of awareness campaigns.