Francine Berlange SADO YOUSSEU1
1 Centre Pasteur of Cameroon, yaoundé, Cameroon.
CaHReF 2018, Yaoundé Congres hall, 08 – 11 January 2019 , OAU002
Background: Arboviruses represent an escalating threat to public health worldwide and are predominantly present in intertropical areas. Chikungunya, Dengue and Zika viruses (CHIKV, DENV, and ZIKV) have been implicated in recent epidemics around the world included Africa. In Cameroon, data on these viruses are scarce.
Objectif: Determine the frequency of detection (by molecular techniques) of Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya viruses in febrile patients consulting at a health facility in Douala, Cameroon
Methodology: A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out from March to May 2017 at the New-Bell District Hospital in Douala. Blood samples were collected on EDTA tube, from less than five days febrile patients, tested for plasmodia presence and then plasma was analyzed for the presence of CHIKV, DENV and ZIKV by the CDC real time trioplex RT-PCR at the Arbovirus Laboratory of Centre Pasteur of Cameroon. DENV positive cases were later analyzed by an end-point RT-PCR to determine the serotype.
Results: A total of 114 participants were included, of which 36.84% were male, with a sex ratio (male/female) of 0.58. The median age was 26 years, range [0.25-81]. Eight participants had dengue fever (7%). Five cases of DENV serotype 1 were determined using a serotyping Assay. No case of ZIKV or CHIKV was detected. Three patients (13%) were co-infected with dengue and malaria. No statistically significant association was found between socio-demographic factors and dengue infection.
Conclusion/Recommandation: This study revealed the circulation of Dengue virus among febrile patients, and raises the alarm for the establishment of a sustained surveillance system to detect cases and prevent potential outbreaks in Cameroon. The detection of dengue-malaria co-infections suggests that the search for cases of arbovirosis should not be limited to febrile, non-malarial cases.
Key Words: Dengue virus, RT-PCR, Douala, Febrile patients