Zerfu Biruk, Kassa Tesfu, Mamo Gezahegne, Larrick James W, Legesse Mengistu
Microbiology Research Unit, Aklilu Lemma Institute of Pathobiology, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
SAGE Open Med. 2024 Sep 9;12:20503121241276557. doi: 10.1177/20503121241276557. eCollection 2024.
Chikungunya is a disease caused by mosquito-borne chikungunya virus infection. This disease is becoming one of the emerging/re-emerging viral diseases in tropical and subtropical countries but is neglected by public health systems. This study assessed the seroprevalence of chikungunya virus infection among patients with acute febrile illness seeking healthcare in a malaria-endemic area in the Afar Region, Northeast Ethiopia.
An institution-based cross-sectional study was employed from September 2022 to March 2023 to assess the seroprevalence of chikungunya virus infection among malaria-suspected febrile patients attending health institutes in the Afar Region. Sociodemographic, clinical features, and venous blood were collected from each study participant. Blood films were prepared and examined for plasmodium infection using microscopy. Sera were separated and screened for anti-chikungunya virus IgM and IgG antibodies using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data were entered into Epi Data 3.1 and analyzed using Stata/SE 14.2.
In this study, 368 malaria-suspected febrile patients (55.4% female, aged 5-80 years old, mean ± SD = 27.28 ± 14.0) participated. The prevalence of anti-chikungunya virus IgM antibodies, indicating acute infection, was 47.8%, while the prevalence of IgG antibodies, indicating previous exposure, was 6.3%. Nonmarried participants were found to be more likely to have acute chikungunya virus infection (AOR = 2.34, 95% CI: 1.141-4.964), and back pain was associated with higher likelihood of acute infection (AOR = 1.785; 95% CI: 1.078-2.954). About 10.6% of the participants tested positive for parasite infection, with (84.6%) being the most common, followed by (10.3%) and mixed (5.1%) infections.
The study revealed a high seroprevalence of acute chikungunya virus infection among febrile patients in the Afar Region, highlighting the importance of regular screening for arbovirus infection in febrile patients to control and mitigate chikungunya spread.
基孔肯雅热是一种由蚊媒传播的基孔肯雅病毒感染引起的疾病。这种疾病正在成为热带和亚热带国家新出现/再次出现的病毒性疾病之一，但被公共卫生系统忽视。本研究评估了在埃塞俄比亚东北部阿法尔地区一个疟疾流行区寻求医疗服务的急性发热性疾病患者中基孔肯雅病毒感染的血清流行率。
采用基于机构的横断面研究，于2022年9月至2023年3月评估阿法尔地区卫生机构中疑似疟疾的发热患者中基孔肯雅病毒感染的血清流行率。收集了每位研究参与者的社会人口统计学、临床特征和静脉血。制备血涂片并使用显微镜检查疟原虫感染情况。分离血清并使用酶联免疫吸附测定法筛查抗基孔肯雅病毒IgM和IgG抗体。数据录入Epi Data 3.1并使用Stata/SE 14.2进行分析。
在本研究中，368名疑似疟疾的发热患者（女性占55.4%，年龄5 - 80岁，平均±标准差 = 27.28 ± 14.0）参与了研究。表明急性感染的抗基孔肯雅病毒IgM抗体的流行率为47.8%，而表明既往接触过的IgG抗体的流行率为6.3%。发现未婚参与者更有可能感染急性基孔肯雅病毒（比值比 = 2.34，95%置信区间：1.141 - 4.964），背痛与急性感染的可能性较高相关（比值比 = 1.785；95%置信区间：1.078 - 2.954）。约10.6%的参与者寄生虫感染检测呈阳性，其中间日疟原虫（84.6%）最为常见，其次是恶性疟原虫（10.3%）和混合感染（5.1%）。
该研究揭示了阿法尔地区发热患者中急性基孔肯雅病毒感染的血清流行率很高，突出了对发热患者定期筛查虫媒病毒感染以控制和减轻基孔肯雅热传播的重要性。
