Dengue Outbreak in Mombasa City, Kenya, 2013-2014: Entomologic Investigations

PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2016 Oct 26;10(10):e0004981. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0004981. eCollection 2016 Oct.

Abstract

Dengue outbreaks were first reported in East Africa in the late 1970s to early 1980s including the 1982 outbreak on the Kenyan coast. In 2011, dengue outbreaks occurred in Mandera in northern Kenya and subsequently in Mombasa city along the Kenyan coast in 2013-2014. Following laboratory confirmation of dengue fever cases, an entomologic investigation was conducted to establish the mosquito species, and densities, causing the outbreak. Affected parts of the city were identified with the help of public health officials. Adult Ae. aegypti mosquitoes were collected using various tools, processed and screened for dengue virus (DENV) by cell culture and RT-PCR. All containers in every accessible house and compound within affected suburbs were inspected for immatures. A total of 2,065 Ae. aegypti adults were collected and 192 houses and 1,676 containers inspected. An overall house index of 22%, container index, 31.0% (indoor = 19; outdoor = 43) and Breteau index, 270.1, were observed, suggesting that the risk of dengue transmission was high. Overall, jerry cans were the most productive containers (18%), followed by drums (17%), buckets (16%), tires (14%) and tanks (10%). However, each site had specific most-productive container-types such as tanks (17%) in Kizingo; Drums in Nyali (30%) and Changamwe (33%), plastic basins (35%) in Nyali-B and plastic buckets (81%) in Ganjoni. We recommend that for effective control of the dengue vector in Mombasa city, all container types would be targeted. Measures would include proper covering of water storage containers and eliminating discarded containers outdoors through a public participatory environmental clean-up exercise. Providing reliable piped water to all households would minimize the need for water storage and reduce aquatic habitats. Isolation of DENV from male Ae. aegypti mosquitoes is a first observation in Kenya and provides further evidence that transovarial transmission may have a role in DENV circulation and/or maintenance in the environment.

MeSH terms

  • Aedes / physiology*
  • Aedes / virology
  • Animals
  • Cities
  • Dengue / epidemiology*
  • Dengue / transmission
  • Dengue / virology
  • Dengue Virus / genetics
  • Dengue Virus / isolation & purification
  • Dengue Virus / physiology
  • Disease Outbreaks
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Insect Vectors / physiology*
  • Insect Vectors / virology
  • Kenya / epidemiology
  • Male

Grants and funding

This work was funded by the Global Emerging Infection Surveillance and Response System (GEIS) of the US Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC) under the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and supported by the Director, KEMRI. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript