First evidence of simultaneous circulation of three different dengue virus serotypes in Africa

PLoS One. 2013 Oct 21;8(10):e78030. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078030. eCollection 2013.

Abstract

Gabon, in Central Africa, was affected for the first time in 2007 and then in 2010 by simultaneous outbreaks of chikungunya and Dengue serotype 2 (DENV-2) viruses. Through the national surveillance of dengue-like syndromes between 2007 and 2010, we observed continuous circulation of DENV-2 in a southward movement. This rapid spread of DENV-2 was associated with the emergence of DENV-1 in 2007 and DENV-3 in 2010. Interestingly, we detected six DENV-2 infected patients with hemorrhagic signs during the second outbreak in 2010. Although these cases do not meet all standard WHO criteria for severe Dengue with hemorrhage (formerly DHF), this is the first report of several dengue fever cases associated with hemorrhagic signs during a simultaneous circulation of different DENV serotypes in Africa. Together, these findings suggest that DENV is becoming more widely established on this continent and that DHF will likely become a serious public-health problem in the near future.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Africa / epidemiology
  • Dengue / epidemiology*
  • Dengue Virus / genetics
  • Dengue Virus / pathogenicity
  • Humans
  • Phylogeny
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Grants and funding

This work was supported by CIRMF which is funded by the Gabonese Government, Total Gabon and the French Foreign Ministry. It was also partially financed by grants from Fondation Christophe et Rodolphe Mérieux, Institut de France and IRD. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.