Tchuandom Salomon Bonsi, Tchouangueu Thibau Flaurant, Antonio-Nkondjio Christophe, Lissom Abel, Djang Jean Olivier Ngono, Atabonkeng Etienne Philemon, Kechia Assumpta, Nchinda Godwin, Kuiate Jules-Roger
Department of Biochemistry, University of Dschang, Cameroon.
Public School of medical Laboratory Technicians, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Pan Afr Med J. 2018 Nov 13;31:177. doi: 10.11604/pamj.2018.31.177.16390. eCollection 2018.
A routine diagnosis of Dengue virus (DENV) infection is not usually conducted in hospitals. Because symptoms overlap, many potential febrile illnesses due to DENV may be confused for malaria, typhoid or paratyphoid (enteric) fever. The absence of data on DENV exposure rates among children attending health facilities could undermine management of this disease. This study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of dengue virus infection in children presenting febrile illness in some public health facilities in Cameroon.
A cross-sectional study was performed in children ≤ 15 years attending seven urban and three semi-urban public hospitals of Cameroon. From each volunteer, 2ml of whole blood was collected and tested for dengue virus IgM, malaria (Pf/Pan antigens) and enteric fever (Typhoid IgM) using rapid diagnostic tests (RDT); in order to allow the healthcare workers to quickly put the positive cases under appropriate treatment. Positive cases of dengue virus infection were confirmed by indirect ELISA. Data analysis were performed using the statistical package for social sciences software, version 22.1.
A total of 961 children were enrolled in the study and 492 (51.2%) were infected with at least one of the three pathogens. Overall, DENV IgM seroprevalence among febrile children was 14.4% (138/961). About 390 (40.6%) and 22 (2.3%) had malaria (Pf/Pan Ag) and enteric fever (Typhoid IgM) respectively. Co-infection with dengue virus was found in 51 (5.3%) participants. The dengue virus IgM seroprevalence was higher in Bankim (19.3%), Ntui (18.3%) and Douala (18.2%).
Dengue virus infection seroprevalence appears to be low in children presenting with febrile illness in the studied health centres in Cameroon but call for more attention and research to further characterise the circulating strains of the dengue virus.
医院通常不会对登革热病毒（DENV）感染进行常规诊断。由于症状重叠，许多由登革热病毒引起的潜在发热性疾病可能会被误诊为疟疾、伤寒或副伤寒（肠道）热。缺乏在医疗机构就诊儿童中登革热病毒暴露率的数据可能会影响对该疾病的管理。本研究旨在调查喀麦隆一些公共卫生机构中出现发热性疾病的儿童登革热病毒感染的血清流行率。
对喀麦隆7家城市和3家半城市公立医院中15岁及以下的儿童进行了一项横断面研究。从每位志愿者采集2毫升全血，使用快速诊断检测（RDT）检测登革热病毒IgM、疟疾（Pf/Pan抗原）和肠道热（伤寒IgM）；以便医护人员能迅速对阳性病例进行适当治疗。登革热病毒感染的阳性病例通过间接ELISA进行确认。使用社会科学统计软件包22.1版进行数据分析。
共有961名儿童参与了该研究，其中492名（51.2%）感染了三种病原体中的至少一种。总体而言，发热儿童中登革热病毒IgM血清流行率为14.4%（138/961）。分别约有390名（40.6%）和22名（2.3%）患有疟疾（Pf/Pan抗原）和肠道热（伤寒IgM）。51名（5.3%）参与者中发现了登革热病毒合并感染。班金（19.3%）、恩图伊（18.3%）和杜阿拉（18.2%）的登革热病毒IgM血清流行率较高。
在喀麦隆所研究的卫生中心，出现发热性疾病的儿童中登革热病毒感染血清流行率似乎较低，但需要更多关注和研究以进一步鉴定登革热病毒的流行毒株。
