Dengue Seroprevalence and Factors Associated with Dengue Seropositivity in Petaling District, Malaysia

Abstract

Dengue virus (DENV) infection is a major public health concern, posing huge economic and disease burdens globally. In Malaysia, the incidence of DENV infections has increased significantly over the years. Nevertheless, the passive surveillance mechanism applied may not capture the actual magnitude of DENV infection. There was also a paucity of community-based studies exploring DENV seroprevalence. This study aimed to determine the DENV seroprevalence and the associated factors among the urban population in Petaling district, Malaysia. A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 18 August to 26 October 2018 with 533 participants recruited. Blood samples were collected and analysed for DENV seropositivity using a composite reference standard comprised of three dengue serological tests. Associated factors were identified by fitting Generalised Linear Mixed Models with binomial error structure and logit link function. DENV seroprevalence obtained was 79.0% (95% CI: 75.2–82.4%). The age-specific DENV seroprevalence showed an increasing trend with advancing age, from 22.7% (95% CI: 9.6–45.0%) for those aged below five years old to 94.9% (95% CI: 81.3–98.7%) for those aged ≥60 years old. Only age group and house level were found to be significant factors associated with DENV seropositivity. The odds of being DENV seropositive generally increased with age, from 13.43 (95% CI: 2.77–65.22) for the 5–9 years old age group to 384.77 (95% CI: 39.27–3769.97) for the ≥60 years old age group, as compared to those aged below 5 years old. For house level, those who lived on the first and second floor (OR: 8.98, 95% CI: 3.16–25.12) and the third floor and above (OR: 4.82, 95% CI: 1.89–12.32) had greater odds of being DENV seropositive compared to those living on the ground floor. This study demonstrated the persistently high DENV seroprevalence among the urban population in Petaling district, which could be useful to evaluate dengue control measures taken and estimate more accurate disease incidence. The associated factors with DENV seropositivity identified could also contribute to undertaking more targeted preventive and control measures.

Molecular Investigation of DENV serotypes in the dengue outbreak of 2022 in Nepal

“…This could have been due to re-emergence of DENV3 after several years. 56,61,62 But the difference was not significant enough to confirm this hypothesis.…”

“…55 Nevertheless, the overall distribution of serotypes, from this study, was similar to other studies in Nepal, done during epidemic of 2022, where DENV1 was observed to be highly prevalent followed by DENV3. [56][57][58] Though Nepal has previously reported all four serotypes in the past, DENV1 and DENV2…”

A scoping literature review of global dengue age-stratified seroprevalence data: estimating dengue force of infection in endemic countries

“… 59 2006–2012 A 0.034 (0.032, 0.036) Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Pakr, IL, USA Malaysia Petaling district 0-60+ 8 500 indirect IgG ELISA Ng et al. 60 Aug–Oct 2018 A 0.059 (0.052, 0.066) Panbio, Abbott, Chicago, IL, USA Malaysia Sungai Segamat 18–55+ 5 277 capture IgG ELISA Dhanoa et al. 61 Apr–May 2015 A 0.029 (0.025, 0.033) Panbio indirect and Capture elisa Alere, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia Malaysia forest areas of Peninsular Malaysia 0–13+ 2 491 capture IgG ELISA Abd-Jamil et al.…”

Yellow Fever Emergence: Role of Heterologous Flavivirus Immunity in Preventing Urban Transmission

“…Also, it is important to investigate the implications for reciprocal effects on DENV and ZIKV infection following YF vaccination or infection. Although our central hypothesis reflected the assumption that human flavivirus immunity, especially for DENV and ZIKV, is lower in Africa than in Asia or South America ( 32,37–40 ), more data on seroprevalence in locations such as Angola, which recently experienced urban YF, would be useful. In addition, further studies utilizing African strains of YFV and African Ae.…”