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Dengue outbreak affected Federated States of Micronesia
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An outbreak of dengue virus affected 3.7% of the 6,600 residents of the state of Kosrae in the Federated States of Micronesia, CDC reported in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The initial patient was a woman aged 35 years who was hospitalized on Sept. 26 with fever, headache, muscle pain, vomiting, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. In the following week, there were seven more suspected cases of dengue virus, three of which were positive according to rapid diagnostic testing. By March 14, there were 729 suspected cases of dengue virus.
Of the 728 patients tested with rapid diagnostic testing, 206 were positive: 173 were NS1-positive and 41 were positive for anti-dengue virus immunoglobulin M. Eight were positive for both. During the 5.5 months, the cumulative incidence was 110 suspected cases and 31.1 confirmed dengue cases per 1,000 population.
The highest rate of suspected dengue was in the 20- to 24-year-old age group, with a rate of 171.5 per 1,000 population. The 35- to 39-year-old age group had the highest confirmed dengue cases, with a rate of 83.6 per 1,000 population. Lelu was the most affected municipality, where 42% of the cases occurred.
In response to the outbreak, multiple agencies worked to maximize quality of clinical care and provide workshops for physicians and nurses, according to WHO guidelines. Enhanced dengue surveillance was established.
“This outbreak highlights the multidisciplinary nature of the public health response required to manage a dengue outbreak,” the researchers wrote. “One area of particular importance is assuring high quality clinical management. This is often overlooked, despite reliable evidence that proper management can substantially reduce mortality from severe dengue.”
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