Chikungunya virus in North-Eastern Italy: a seroprevalence survey.
After an outbreak of Chikungunya infection in Emilia-Romagna Region (North-eastern Italy), a survey was performed to estimate the seroprevalence of antibody to Chikungunya virus and the proportion of asymptomatic infections, to identify factors associated with infection, and evaluate the performance of the surveillance system. The method used was a survey on a random sample of residents of the village with the largest number of reported cases. The prevalence was 10.2% (33 of 325), being higher in older people and males, and lower when window screens and insect repellents were used. Only 18% of infected persons were fully asymptomatic, 85% of the 27 symptomatic confirmed cases satisfied the surveillance case definition, and 63% of the persons meeting the criteria for suspect case were identified by the active surveillance system. This study provides basic parameters for modeling the transmission potential of outbreaks and planning control measures for Chikungunya infection in temperate settings.
Moro
Maria Luisa
ML
Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Bologna, Italy. mlmoro@regione.emilia-romagna.it
Gagliotti
Carlo
C
Silvi
Giuliano
G
Angelini
Raffaella
R
Sambri
Vittorio
V
Rezza
Giovanni
G
Massimiliani
Erika
E
Mattivi
Andrea
A
Grilli
Elisa
E
Finarelli
Alba Carola
AC
Spataro
Nadir
N
Pierro
Anna Maria
AM
Seyler
Thomas
T
Macini
Pierluigi
P
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D055815:Young Adult
D000914:Antibodies, Viral