Risk factors for dengue virus infection in rural Amazonia: population-based cross-sectional surveys

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2008 Oct;79(4):485-94.

Abstract

A comparison of dengue virus (DENV) antibody levels in paired serum samples collected from predominantly DENV-naive residents in an agricultural settlement in Brazilian Amazonia (baseline seroprevalence, 18.3%) showed a seroconversion rate of 3.67 episodes/100 person-years at risk during 12 months of follow-up. Multivariate analysis identified male sex, poverty, and migration from extra-Amazonian states as significant predictors of baseline DENV seropositivity, whereas male sex, a history of clinical diagnosis of dengue fever, and travel to an urban area predicted subsequent seroconversion. The laboratory surveillance of acute febrile illnesses implemented at the study site and in a nearby town between 2004 and 2006 confirmed 11 DENV infections among 102 episodes studied with DENV IgM detection, reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation; DENV-3 was isolated. Because DENV exposure is associated with migration or travel, personal protection measures when visiting high-risk urban areas may reduce the incidence of DENV infection in this rural population.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood
  • Brazil
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Dengue / diagnosis
  • Dengue / etiology*
  • Dengue / prevention & control
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulin M / blood
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Risk Factors
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies
  • Sex Characteristics

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Immunoglobulin M