High Dengue Burden and Circulation of 4 Virus Serotypes among Children with Undifferentiated Fever, Kenya, 2014–2017

• Main Authors: Melisa M. Shah, Bryson A. Ndenga, Francis M. Mutuku, David M. Vu, Elysse N. Grossi-Soyster, Victoria Okuta, Charles O. Ronga, Philip K. Chebii, Priscilla Maina, Zainab Jembe, Carren M. Bosire, Jael S. Amugongo, Malaya K. Sahoo, ChunHong Huang, Jenna Weber, Sean V. Edgerton, Jimmy Hortion, Shannon N. Bennett, Benjamin A. Pinsky, A. Desiree LaBeaud
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2020-11-01
• Series: Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Subjects: dengue; dengue virus; viruses; arboviruses; serotypes; disease burden
• Online Access: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/26/11/20-0960_article
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059

Little is known about the extent and serotypes of dengue viruses circulating in Africa. We evaluated the presence of dengue viremia during 4 years of surveillance (2014–2017) among children with febrile illness in Kenya. Acutely ill febrile children were recruited from 4 clinical sites in western and coastal Kenya, and 1,022 participant samples were tested by using a highly sensitive real-time reverse transcription PCR. A complete case analysis with genomic sequencing and phylogenetic analyses was conducted to characterize the presence of dengue viremia among participants during 2014–2017. Dengue viremia was detected in 41.9% (361/862) of outpatient children who had undifferentiated febrile illness in Kenya. Of children with confirmed dengue viremia, 51.5% (150/291) had malaria parasitemia. All 4 dengue virus serotypes were detected, and phylogenetic analyses showed several viruses from novel lineages. Our results suggests high levels of dengue virus infection among children with undifferentiated febrile illness in Kenya.