Prevalence and Determinants of Dengue Virus Immunoglobulin among Febrile Patients Attending Naval Medical Centre Victoria Island, Lagos State

• Published in: Global Biosecurity
• Main Authors: Mohammed, Ahmadu Shehu, Odegbemi, Odekunle Bola, Igwe, Chinedu, Hussain, Nurudeen AA, Abaye, Biobelu, Adekanye, Usman Oladipo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of New South Wales 2021
• Subjects: Dengue fever; Febrile; Military; Immunoglobulins; Victoria Island
• Online Access: https://account.jglobalbiosecurity.com/index.php/up-j-gb/article/view/110; https://doi.org/10.31646/gbio.110

Background: Dengue fever, (df) is a mosquito-borne disease caused by the dengue virus. Infection with dengue virus is a major cause of morbidity in the tropical and sub-tropical parts of the world. In about 60% of cases, it gives rise to undifferentiated fever which is clinically indistinguishable from other viral infections. Dengue fever is known to occur in Nigeria, but the magnitude of this disease remains unclear. This study was done to determine the prevalence and determinants of df immunoglobulins (Ig) among patients attending a military hospital in Lagos.Methods: Systematic random sampling was used to recruit participants. Study participants were patients presenting with febrile illness at Naval Medical Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. A semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and 3 millilitres venous blood was drawn from each participant. Anti-dengue IgM and IgG was determined from whole blood using lateral flow chromatographic immunoassay in line with manufacturer’s instructions. Thick blood film was used for malaria microscopy. Epi-info version 7.2 was employed for data analysis using descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis at 5% level of significance.Results: Mean age of study participants was 30.1 ± 13.6 years and 182 (59.9%) were males. The prevalence of df IgM and IgG was 8.5% and 18.0% respectively. Malaria-dengue fever co-infection was 10.8%. Individuals with malaria were twice less likely to have df (OR: 0.46, 95%CI: 0.27 - 0.78). Military personnel and their relations were about 3 times less likely to have df (OR: 0.35, 95%CI: 0.18 - 0.66). Joint pain was significantly associated with df (OR: 1.78, 95%CI: 1.05 - 2.99).Conclusions: A significant proportion of study population had both df IgM and IgG. Screening for df should be part of routine tests amongst patients that presents with febrile illness particularly those with joint pain.