TY - JOUR
T1 - Detection of Multiple Dengue Virus Serotypes Circulating in Somalia
AU - Tugume, Titus
AU - Erima, Bernard
AU - Matulis, Graham A.
AU - Kibuuka, Hannah
AU - Musinguzi, Ambrose K.
AU - Asea, Joseph
AU - Kiyengo, James
AU - Mworozi, Edison
AU - Dorman, William R.
AU - Yohannes, Hadish H.
AU - Smith, Haley P.
AU - Delp, Korey L.
AU - Wabwire-Mangen, Fred
AU - Egbo, Timothy E.
AU - Garges, Eric
AU - von Fricken, Michael
AU - Stefan, Christopher P.
AU - Koehler, Jeffrey W.
AU - Byarugaba, Denis K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2026 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
PY - 2026/5
Y1 - 2026/5
N2 - Dengue virus (DENV) is widely distributed across Africa but underreported due to limited surveillance and diagnostic capacity. Under an acute febrile illness surveillance protocol, we collected and screened 374 samples from patients with fever in Mogadishu, Somalia. Samples were screened for DENV serotypes using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and positive samples were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. We identified 55 samples containing orthoflavivirus RNA (14.7%). Of these 55 samples, three dengue serotypes, DENV serotype 1 (DENV-1, n 5 24), DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2, n 5 21), and DENV serotype 3 (DENV-3, n 5 12), were identified. Two cases of coinfections were detected: 1) between DENV-1 and DENV-2 and 2) between DENV-2 and DENV-3. DENV-1 had two genetic clusters, both related to lineages from Asia. DENV-2 grouped within a set of sequences from Asia and Africa, particularly close to a DENV-2 outbreak in Kenya. The DENV-3 grouped with isolates from Oceania Asia, clustering with a case of dengue fever identified in Italy in 2023 and Ethiopia in 2023. Our findings suggest concurrent infections of the three serotypes with DENV-3 being more widely spread in East Africa.
AB - Dengue virus (DENV) is widely distributed across Africa but underreported due to limited surveillance and diagnostic capacity. Under an acute febrile illness surveillance protocol, we collected and screened 374 samples from patients with fever in Mogadishu, Somalia. Samples were screened for DENV serotypes using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and positive samples were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. We identified 55 samples containing orthoflavivirus RNA (14.7%). Of these 55 samples, three dengue serotypes, DENV serotype 1 (DENV-1, n 5 24), DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2, n 5 21), and DENV serotype 3 (DENV-3, n 5 12), were identified. Two cases of coinfections were detected: 1) between DENV-1 and DENV-2 and 2) between DENV-2 and DENV-3. DENV-1 had two genetic clusters, both related to lineages from Asia. DENV-2 grouped within a set of sequences from Asia and Africa, particularly close to a DENV-2 outbreak in Kenya. The DENV-3 grouped with isolates from Oceania Asia, clustering with a case of dengue fever identified in Italy in 2023 and Ethiopia in 2023. Our findings suggest concurrent infections of the three serotypes with DENV-3 being more widely spread in East Africa.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038226520
U2 - 10.4269/ajtmh.25-0445
DO - 10.4269/ajtmh.25-0445
M3 - Article
C2 - 41774924
AN - SCOPUS:105038226520
SN - 0002-9637
VL - 114
SP - 951
EP - 955
JO - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
JF - American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
IS - 5
ER -