Analysis of dengue fever disease in West Africa

Abstract

Dengue fever disease (DFD) which is caused by four antigenically distinct dengue viruses (DENV) presents a global health threat, with tropical and subtropical regions at a greater risk. The paucity of epidemiological data on dengue in West African subregion endangers efforts geared toward disease control and prevention. A systematic search of DFD prevalence, incidence, and DENV-infected Aedes in West Africa was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, African Index Medicus, and Google Scholar in line with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 58 human prevalence studies involving 35,748 people from 8 countries were identified. Two incidence and six DENV-infected studies were also reviewed. Nigeria and Burkina Faso contributed the majority of the prevalence studies which spanned between 1968 and 2018, with a considerable variation in coverage among the countries reviewed in this study. An average prevalence of 20.97% was observed across both general prevalence and acute DENV infection study categories, ranging between 0.02% and 93%. The majority of these studies were conducted in acute febrile patients with a prevalence range of 0.02–93% while 19% ( n = 11) of all studies were general population-based studies and reported a prevalence range of 17.2–75.8%. DENV-infected Aedes aegypti were reported in four out of the five countries with published reports; with DENV-2 found circulating in Cape Verde, Senegal, and Burkina Faso while DENV-3 and DENV-4 were also reported in Senegal and Cape Verde, respectively. High prevalence of DFD in human populations and the occurrence of DENV-infected A. aegypti have been reported in West Africa, even though weaknesses in study design were identified. Epidemiological data from most countries and population in the subregion were scarce or non-existent. This study highlights the epidemic risk of DFD in West Africa, and the need for research and surveillance to be prioritized to fill the data gap required to enact effective control measures.

Molecular detection of Dengue virus from febrile patient cases in Ghana

“…The DENV has caused an estimated number of about 390 million infections globally and 500,000 cases of DHF/DSS annually, with 2.5 billion people at risk (4) .Over the years, the incidence and geographic distribution of DF has surged in many countries, particularly in those with tropical and sub-tropical climates. DENV has continuously increased in prevalence since the 1950's, making it the most common arthropod-borne viral disease worldwide currently, with the spread and circulation of multiple serotypes (5). DF is now endemic in more than 100 countries in the regions of the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, the Western Paci c, the Americas, and Africa(6).…”