Serofrequency of Dengue Virus Infection among Febrile Patients in Eastern Sudan

Abstract

Dengue fever, caused by dengue virus (DENV), which has become one of the most important mosquitos borne viral diseases with a steady rise in global incidence, including the Sudan. Sporadic cases and frequent acute febrile illness outbreaks, compatible with Dengue fever, have been reported in Eastern Sudan especially Port Sudan and Kassala State. This descriptive cross-sectional study was aimed to determine the frequency and potential risk factors of dengue virus infection in Eastern Sudan at Kassala and Port Sudan Teaching Hospitals between December 2019 and April 2022. In this study 93 blood specimens wererandomly collected from febrile patients and they tested for the presence of DENV-specific immunoglobulin (IgM) antibodies using a commercially available Anti-dengue IgM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Among the 93 febrile patients, 83 (89.2%) were seropositive for DENV IgM, while 10(10.8%) were negative. Concerning positivity according to the age groups, there were 36 (43.3%) in the age group 1-5 years, 32 (38.6%) in the age group 6-11 years, and 15(16.1%) at age groups 12-17 years were positive for anti-DENV IgM antibodies. There was an in significant association between age group and Dengue fever (P-value = 0.075). For gender, 42 (50.6%) male, 41 (49.4%) females were positive for the presence of anti-DEVN IgM antibodies, but there was no meaningful association between gender and Dengue fever infection (P.value=0.97).On average, 74 (89.2%) of the 83 patients with anti-DENV antibodies had symptoms lasting from 3-7 days, while 9 patients (9.8%) had symptoms lasting more than 7 days. An insignificant association was found between anti-DENV-antibodies and symptoms' duration (P.value=0.65).Among the positive patients, 22 (26.5%) were from Port Sudan, while 61 (74.5%) were from Kassala. The residence group was not significantly associated with anti DENV antibodies (P.value =0.23). In conclusion: There was a high frequency of DENV antibodies among febrile patients in Eastern Sudan, because during that time Red Sea and Kassala States experiencing epidemics of fever.