Detection of Dengue viruses among febrile patients in Lagos, Nigeria and phylogenetics of circulating Dengue serotypes in Africa

Christianah Idowu Ayolabi; Babatunde Adebiyi Olusola; Sylvester Agha Ibemgbo; Geraldine Oluoma Okonkwo

doi:10.1016/j.meegid.2019.103947

Detection of Dengue viruses among febrile patients in Lagos, Nigeria and phylogenetics of circulating Dengue serotypes in Africa

Infect Genet Evol. 2019 Nov:75:103947. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.103947. Epub 2019 Jul 2.

Authors

Christianah Idowu Ayolabi¹, Babatunde Adebiyi Olusola², Sylvester Agha Ibemgbo³, Geraldine Oluoma Okonkwo⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. Electronic address: cayolabi@unilag.edu.ng.
² Department of Virology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Electronic address: tundesji@yahoo.ca.
³ Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria; Department of Biological Sciences, Mountain Top University, Ogun State, Nigeria. Electronic address: saibemgbo@mtu.edu.ng.
⁴ Department of Microbiology, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. Electronic address: Okonkowo_geraldine@yahoo.com.

PMID: 31276800
DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2019.103947

Abstract

Dengue fever, a mosquito borne viral disease, is caused by Dengue virus. This virus and its vector is endemic in most tropical countries including Nigeria. Dengue presents with febrile symptoms and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in affected countries. The infection presently has no licensed drugs and vaccine is only available for previously exposed individuals. Despite the endemicity of Dengue in Nigeria, very few studies have identified circulating Dengue genotypes in the country. There is also sparse information on the occurrence, distribution and temporal patterns of circulating dengue virus serotypes as well as genotypes in Africa. This situation creates barriers to effective control of the infection in the continent. This study identified Dengue serotypes and genotypes among febrile patients in two health centers in Lagos, Nigeria. Phylogenetic analysis of Dengue sequences previously collected from African countries and submitted to GenBank database from 1944 till date was also performed. One hundred and thirty febrile persons were recruited for the study between April and August 2018. Eleven (8.5%) persons were Dengue virus positive. Dengue virus serotypes 1 (genotype I) and 3 (genotype I) were identified as actively circulating in Lagos, Nigeria. DENV 1 genotype V, DENV 2 cosmopolitan genotype and DENV 3 genotype III has over the years been the predominant circulating Dengue strains in Africa. Relative genotypic stability of circulating Dengue serotypes in Africa occurred over the past five decades. This may be due to limited investigations on circulating Dengue serotypes among asymptomatic individuals in the region as most studies focused on disease outbreaks and imported cases. There is the need to describe circulating Dengue genotypes in northern Africa, southern Africa as well as among asymptomatic individuals in other parts of Africa as this will provide further information on the diversity of Dengue genotypes circulating in the region.

Keywords: Africa; Cosmopolitan; Dengue genotypes; Mosquito-borne infection; Nigeria; Serotype co-circulation.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adult
Child
Child, Preschool
Cross-Sectional Studies
Dengue Virus / classification
Dengue Virus / genetics
Dengue Virus / isolation & purification*
Female
Fever / virology*
Genes, Viral
Genotype
Humans
Infant
Male
Middle Aged
Nigeria
Phylogeny*
Young Adult