This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Dengue exposures unnoticed among Ghanaian children
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Previous cases of dengue virus transmission may be undetected or misdiagnosed among Ghanaian children with febrile illnesses, according to data recently published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
“We believe dengue to be one of many diseases with classic fever and headache symptoms that are currently being misdiagnosed as malaria on a massive scale,” Justin Stoler, PhD, MPH, of the University of Miami, said in a press release. “The overprescribing of antimalarials puts evolutionary pressure on the malaria parasite that risks hastening its resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapy — the front-line drugs used to treat malaria in Africa.”
Stoler and colleagues examined plasma samples from 218 children aged 2 to 14 years who tested positive for malaria at health facilities in three areas of Ghana. Samples were collected from 2011 to 2014. The Capture DxSelect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA, Focus Diagnostics) was used to detect immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) specific to dengue virus. Patient characteristics such as antimalarial drug use, daily bed net use and disease symptoms also were collected.
The researchers found dengue-specific IgM in 3.2% of tested plasma samples, suggesting possible coinfection, and IgG antibodies were detected in 21.6% of samples, which may indicate a previous dengue virus exposure. No evidence of acute dengue infection was found among any samples.
“If these children who were confirmed to be malaria-positive also tested positive for dengue exposure, imagine what the incidence of dengue could be in unconfirmed malaria cases," Stoler said. “If these patterns hold in Ghana, then the misdiagnosis burden in other large urban areas in Africa could approach one-third of all outpatient visits, given the large volume of presumed malaria cases in health care facilities.” – by Dave Muoio
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts