title: Dengue: etiology of acute febrile illness in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, in 2011-2012.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The burden of dengue in Africa is not well understood. A prospective study was conducted in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire from December 2011 to December 2012 to estimate the proportion of dengue and malaria cases among febrile patients during a period when dengue was not known to be circulating in the region, and to describe the clinical and virological characteristics of laboratory-diagnosed dengue cases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood samples were taken from febrile patients (body temperature ≥ 38°C) at two study sites. Patients with fever lasting more than 7 days, with fever of known origin and with jaundice were excluded. Thick blood film tests, ELISA for anti-dengue IgM and reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 812 patients were enrolled (51.7% male [48.3% female]; 46.4% aged <10 years) of whom 796 (98.0%) provided IgM ELISA and RT-PCR data, and 807 (99.4%) had thick blood film results. Three (0.4%) patients had laboratory-diagnosed dengue (one with DENV-3 serotype), none of whom were diagnosed clinically, and 234 (28.8%) had confirmed malaria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that dengue virus circulates in Abidjan outside an epidemic and that there should be an increase in awareness of dengue as a possible diagnosis in cases of undifferentiated fever. These results stress the importance of implementing laboratory capacity to assess dengue burden in Africa.
authors.affiliation: Global Epidemiology Department, Sanofi Pasteur, Avenue Pont Pasteur 69367 Lyon cedex 07, France maina.lazou@sanofipasteur.com.
authors.forename: Maïna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: L'Azou
authors.affiliation: Global Epidemiology Department, Sanofi Pasteur, Avenue Pont Pasteur 69367 Lyon cedex 07, France.
authors.forename: Tiphanie
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Succo
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
authors.forename: Mamadou
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kamagaté
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology and Clinical Research Department, Pasteur Institute, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
authors.forename: Abdoulaye
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ouattara
authors.affiliation: Sanofi Pasteur, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
authors.forename: Elia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gilbernair
authors.affiliation: Endemic Viruses Department, Pasteur Institute, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adjogoua
authors.affiliation: Global Epidemiology Department, Sanofi Pasteur, Avenue Pont Pasteur 69367 Lyon cedex 07, France.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luxemburger
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000821:virology; D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D007560:Cote d'Ivoire / Q000453:epidemiology; D003715:Dengue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral
keywords: Côte d'Ivoire; Dengue; Fever; Malaria; Prevalence study