Dengue Burden and Factors Influencing Severity in Honduras: A Descriptive and Analytical Study

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Melba Zúniga-Gutiérrez, Marlon Meléndez, Saroni Shadai Rodríguez Montoya, Héctor Alcides Figueroa Escobar, Jorge López, Sandra Paz, Dilcia Sauceda-Acosta
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2024
• Subjects: Dengue; Arbovirus; Epidemiology; Severe dengue; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0594-2023; https://doaj.org/article/96c3293361dd4a0cb5f99d0d6f30d809

ABSTRACT Background: Dengue is a disease that accounts for a major morbidity and mortality in Honduras. Methods: This descriptive study used an analytical component based on the data from the National Virology Laboratory between 2016-2022. Ordinal logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with the classification of dengue without warning signs (DWOS), dengue with warning signs (DWS), and severe dengue (SD). Results: Overall, 14,687 dengue cases were included; 50.1% had DWOS, 36.5% had DWS, and 13.4% had SD. Patients that were more associated with a higher probability of DWS and SD were patients in the age groups 1-4 years (DWS OR 1.61; 95%CI:1.33-1.94), (SD OR 1.52; 95% CI:1.26-1.84), 5-9 years (DWS OR 2.01; 95% CI:1.68-2.40), (SD OR 2.00; 95% CI:1.67-2.40), and 10-19 years (DWS OR 1.55; 95% CI:1.30-1.85) (SD OR 1.57; 95% CI:1.31-1.88). The departments that were associated with a higher probability of DWS and SD were La Paz (OR 6.35; 95% CI:3.53-11.42), (OR 10.94; 95% CI:5.96-20.08), Copán (OR 6.94; 95% CI:5.05-9.53) (OR 7.33; 95% CI: 5.35-10.03), Valle (OR 5.22; 95% CI:1.25-21.82) (OR 10.71; 95% CI:2.21-51.88). Conclusions: During the study period, dengue presented endemic behavior, with peaks consistent with the last two epidemics in Honduras in 2015 and 2019. The main factors associated with dengue severity were age< 19 years, male sex, and being from La Paz, Copán, or Valle.