Virological surveillance of dengue in Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, French West Indies, using blood samples on filter paper.
To strengthen active dengue surveillance in Saint Martin and Saint Barthélemy, two French Caribbean islands, we evaluated the epidemiological usefulness of collecting blood samples from NS1-positive dengue patients on filter paper to identify the dengue serotypes circulating in these regions during a 27-month period. This approach allowed dengue serotypes to be identified by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in 90.1% of the total set of 666 samples analyzed and, in 95.5% of the samples collected during the acute phase of the disease. This prospective virological surveillance using blood samples absorbed onto filter paper, which were stored at 4°C and shipped at ambient temperature to a specialized laboratory for analysis, allowed us to avoid the logistic and financial costs associated with shipping frozen venous blood samples. This surveillance system offers a low-cost alternative for reinforcing dengue prevention in areas where specialized laboratories do not exist, notably by facilitating the early detection of potentially new dengue serotypes.
Laboratoire de Virologie, Centre National de Référence des Arbovirus et Virus Influenza Région Antilles-Guyane, Institut Pasteur de la Guyane, Cayenne, French Guiana. smatheus@pasteur-cayenne.fr
Séverine
S
Matheus
Jean-Loup
JL
Chappert
Sylvie
S
Cassadou
Franck
F
Berger
Bhetty
B
Labeau
Laetitia
L
Bremand
Alain
A
Winicki
Patricia
P
Huc-Anais
Philippe
P
Quenel
Philippe
P
Dussart
D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods*; D003715:Dengue / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D005374:Filtration; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010209:Paper; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012703:Serotyping; D014900:West Indies / Q000453:epidemiology