The seroprevalence and seroincidence of dengue virus infection in western Kenya

Jason M. Blaylock*, Ashley Maranich, Kristen Bauer, Nancy Nyakoe, John Waitumbi, Luis J. Martinez, Julia Lynch

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Epidemics of dengue fever have been documented throughout the African continent over the past several decades, however little is known about the prevalence or incidence of dengue virus infection in the absence of an outbreak. No studies have analyzed the prevalence of dengue infection in western Kenya to date. This study describes the seroincidence and seroprevalence of dengue infection in western Kenya. Banked sera obtained from 354 healthy, afebrile children ages 12-47 months from Kisumu District, Kenya, were analyzed for antibodies to dengue virus using an IgG indirect ELISA. We found a seroprevalence of 1.1% (4 of 354 samples) and incidence of 8.5 seroconversions per 1000 persons per year in this study population. This appears to be similar to that previously reported in coastal regions of the country outside of known epidemic periods. Since there has never been a reported dengue epidemic in western Kenya, continued investigation and evaluation in a patient population presenting with fever is necessary to further confirm this finding.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)246-248
Number of pages3
JournalTravel Medicine and Infectious Disease
Volume9
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dengue virus
  • Kenya
  • Seroprevalence

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