A cross-sectional study of acute dengue infection in paediatric clinics in Cameroon

Abstract

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.

Habitat and Seasonality Affect Mosquito Community Composition in the West Region of Cameroon

“…More specifically, ZIKV has recently been detected in Cameroon in Yaoundé and in the Fako Division [40]. Furthermore, a recent study found acute dengue in children living in urban and semi-urban areas of Dschang [46]. The potential vectors of these arboviruses in Cameroon include Ae.…”

“…Entomological surveys can then provide important insights into the influence of urban planning and prevention on arboviral epidemics. In the western part of Cameroon, very few studies have examined the circulation of arboviruses in human populations and the presence of mosquito vectors [42,46,47]. Given the lack of studies looking at the mosquito composition after urbanisation in western Cameroon, we undertook an entomological survey to identify potential sylvatic, urban and bridge-vector species that could potentially play a role in current or future virus spillover from wild to more urbanised areas.…”

Patterns of Ecological Adaptation of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus and Stegomyia Indices Highlight the Potential Risk of Arbovirus Transmission in Yaoundé, the Capital City of Cameroon

“…Aedes -borne diseases such as dengue especially were once considered scarce in Cameroon. However, during the past decade, cases of dengue have increasingly been reported [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 ] suggesting an active circulation of this virus in Cameroon. In addition, vector competence analysis showed that both Ae.…”

A mosquito survey along a transect of urbanization in Dschang, West Region of Cameroon, reveals potential risk of arbovirus spillovers

“…Furthermore, a recent study found 11.7% and 10.4% of DENV circulating in Dschang and Bagangté respectively [10], all situated in the western highland. Another study revealed acute dengue in children living in urban and semi-urban areas of Dschang [32]. A mosquitobased arbovirus surveillance system might therefore help as a supplement to assess the presence of such arboviruses in the locality and in the whole country.…”

“…In a recent review, Braack and colleagues [1] Orthobunyavirus genus, Bunyaviridae family. These findings originate from many studies that have investigated the prevalence of arboviruses in Cameroon mainly based on the serodiagnostic of blood samples collected from humans [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”