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Introduction 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. Methods 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. Results 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%). Conclusion 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.

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Background Dengue fever is the world’s fastest spreading mosquito borne viral infection. It is prevalent throughout both subtropical and tropical region, and affects over 128 countries. Dengue virus (DENV) infection poses a serious global public health challenge to three billion people, resulting in approximately 200 million cases of morbidity and 50,000 cases of mortality annually. In Cameroon like in most sub-Saharan African countries, DENV infection occur concurrently with other infectious diseases whose symptoms often overlap, rendering differential diagnosis challenging. This study aims at determining the frequency of acute dengue among febrile children under 15 years attending hospitals in some areas of Cameroon. Methods A total of 961 children under the age of 15 were recruited in a cross-sectional study using systematic sampling technique and by selecting each subject out of the three. The study was conducted in 10 public health centers in Cameroon. Demographic data and risk factors of the subjects were obtained using well-structured questionnaires. Dengue virus NS1 antigen, IgM and IgG were analysed using a Tell me fast® Combo Dengue NS1-IgG/IgM Rapid Test. An in-house ELISA test for dengue specific IgM antibody was equally performed for confirmation. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using Graph pad version 6.0. Results A prevalence of 6.14% acute dengue virus infection was observed among children with febrile illness with a significant difference ( p = 0.0488) between males (4.7%) and females (7.7%). In addition, children who reportedly were unprotected from vectors, showed a comparatively higher prevalence of the disease seropositivity than those practicing protective measures. Conclusion DENV infection therefore is an important cause of fever among children in Cameroon. Thus, there is a need to include differential screening for DENV infections as a tool in the management of fever in children in the country. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7252-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Ticks and tick-borne diseases are a major impediment to livestock production worldwide. Cattle trade and transnational transhumance create risks for the spread of ticks and tick-borne diseases and threaten cattle production in the absence of an effective tick control program. Few studies have been undertaken on cattle ticks in the Central African region; therefore, the need to assess the occurrence and the spatial distribution of tick vectors with the aim of establishing a baseline for monitoring future spread of tick borne-diseases in the region is urgent. Results A total of 7091 ixodid ticks were collected during a countrywide cross-sectional field survey and identified using morphological criteria. Of these, 4210 (59.4%) ticks were Amblyomma variegatum, 1112 (15.6%) Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, 708 (10.0%) Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus, 28 (0.4%) Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, 210 (3.0%) Hyalomma rufipes, 768 (10.8%) Hyalomma truncatum, and 19 (0.3%) Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Three ticks of the genus Hyalomma spp. and 33 of the genus Rhipicephalus spp. were not identified to the species level. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) gene sequencing supported the data from morphological examination and led to identification of three additional species, namely Hyalomma dromedarii, Rhipicephalus sulcatus and Rhipicephalus pusillus. The finding of the invasive tick species R. microplus in such large numbers and the apparent displacement of the indigenous R. decoloratus is highly significant since R. microplus is a highly efficient vector of Babesia bovis. Conclusions This study reports the occurrence and current geographical distribution of important tick vectors associated with cattle in Cameroon. It appears that R. microplus is now well established and may be displacing native Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) species, such as R. decoloratus. This calls for an urgent response to safeguard the livestock sector in western central Africa.