title: The seroprevalence and seroincidence of dengue virus infection in western Kenya.
abstract: Epidemics of dengue fever have been documented throughout the African continent over the past several decades, however little is known about the prevalence or incidence of dengue virus infection in the absence of an outbreak. No studies have analyzed the prevalence of dengue infection in western Kenya to date. This study describes the seroincidence and seroprevalence of dengue infection in western Kenya. Banked sera obtained from 354 healthy, afebrile children ages 12-47 months from Kisumu District, Kenya, were analyzed for antibodies to dengue virus using an IgG indirect ELISA. We found a seroprevalence of 1.1% (4 of 354 samples) and incidence of 8.5 seroconversions per 1000 persons per year in this study population. This appears to be similar to that previously reported in coastal regions of the country outside of known epidemic periods. Since there has never been a reported dengue epidemic in western Kenya, continued investigation and evaluation in a patient population presenting with fever is necessary to further confirm this finding.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20307-5001, USA. jason.blaylock@us.army.mil
authors.forename: Jason M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Blaylock
authors.forename: Ashley
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maranich
authors.forename: Kristen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nyakoe
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Waitumbi
authors.forename: Luis J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G