Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever Virus in Saudi Arabia: A Review

Abstract

Dengue fever is a global disease with a spectrum of clinical manifestation ranging from mild febrile disease to a severe disease in the form of dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Dengue virus is one viral hemorrhagic fever that exists in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in addition to Alkhurma (Alkhurma) Hemorrhagic Fever, Chikungunya virus, Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, and Rift Valley Fever. The disease is limited to the Western and South-western regions of Saudi Arabia, where Aedes aegypti exists. The majority of the cases in Saudi Arabia had mild disease and is related to serotypes 1-3 but not 4. The prospect for Dengue virus control relies on vector control, health education, and possibly vaccine use. Despite extensive collaborative efforts between multiple governmental sectors, including Ministry of Health, Ministry of Municipalities and Rural Affairs, and Ministry of Water, dengue remains a major public health concern in the regions affected.

Voltage-sensitive sodium channel (Vssc) mutations associated with pyrethroid insecticide resistance in Aedes aegypti (L.) from two districts of Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: baseline information for a Wolbachia release program

“…Dengue has been a public health problem in Saudi Arabia and particularly in Jeddah since its discovery there in 1994 [ 9 ]. Dengue incidence is confined to the western and south western regions of Saudi Arabia, and cases have increased in Jeddah and Makkah from 2008 to 2012, possibly as a result of increased stagnant water due to construction, but also because of international travel associated with the Hajj [ 10 ]. Dengue cases peaked in 2013 with 6512 cases, and central Jeddah has been identified as a site of major dengue concentration [ 10 ].…”

“…Insecticide resistance is prevalent in Ae . aegypti around the world [ 11 , 12 ], and the resulting reduction of insecticide efficacy is likely to be exacerbating the impact of dengue and of chikungunya, a second flavivirus that circulates in Saudi Arabia [ 10 ]. Insecticide resistance threatens the long-term utility of vector control in this region.…”

An Overview of the Most Significant Zoonotic Viral Pathogens Transmitted from Animal to Human in Saudi Arabia

“…In Saudi Arabia, the disease is limited to the western and southwestern regions, such as Jeddah and Makkah where Aedes aegypti exists. However, all DHF cases in Saudi Arabia presented as a mild disease [171,175]. In fact, the first experience of DHF virus isolation from Saudi Arabia was recorded during an outbreak of the virus in 1994 [176], where the 289 confirmed cases reported in Jeddah were caused by DENV-2 [176,177,178].…”

“…Furthermore, recently, it is well-known that in Saudi Arabia, the DHF infection has been limited to the western and southwestern regions such as Jeddah and Makkah where Aedes aegypti exists. However, all DHF cases in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, were mostly mild cases [171,175,192] and the prospect of dengue virus control lies with vector control, health education, and possibly vaccine use.…”

Prediction of binding potential of natural leads against the prioritized drug targets of chikungunya and dengue viruses by computational screening

“…Dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) are the most widespread flaviviruses that re-emerged throughout recent decades and contributed high-level global public health threats (Al-Tawfiq and Memish 2018;Carrillo-Hernández et al 2018). Chikungunya and dengue, both the co-infections are transmitted by Aedes mosquito with the same geographical areas of infection (Perera-Lecoin et al 2016).…”