article · Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health
Introduction Dengue virus and malaria parasites are mosquito-borne pathogens causing febrile illness among people in tropical and subtropical regions. Dengue, often misdiagnosed as malaria, is an epidemic-prone disease in over 90 countries across all WHO regions. We conducted surveillance to determine the dengue serotypes, prevalence and risk factors of dengue and burden of malaria among febrile patients in public hospitals in Anambra State, Nigeria. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of consenting febrile patients (≥ 1 year of age) from May 2024 – July 2024 in two public tertiary healthcare facilities in Anambra State, Nigeria. We administered semi-structured questionnaires and collected information on socio-demographic characteristics, risk factors and exposures, and clinical features. We collected blood samples for serology (IgG, IgM and NS1) and multiplex real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for dengue and examined thick blood smears for malaria parasites under microscopy. We computed frequencies and proportions and conducted logistic regression analysis to estimate adjusted odds ratios. Results Out of 353 participants, 221 (62.6%) were female. The mean age was 29.9 years, and 86.4% resided in urban areas. Dengue infection was identified in 29 (8.2%) of participants. Malaria was identified in 172 (48.7%). Dengue and malaria co-infection rate was detected in 15 (4.5%) participants. Dengue was associated with a higher educationalattainment (p=0.043). Urban residents were less likely to test positive for malaria (AOR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.22-0.82). Only dengue serotype 3 was detected by RT-PCR. Conclusion Dengue virus, serotype 3, was found to be prevalent among febrile patients in Anambra State, Nigeria, where it frequently presents as coinfection with malaria. Serotype 3 dengue was consistent with previous investigations of serotypes in Nigeria. Testing for the dengue virus should be considered routinely for patients presenting for care with fever.
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DOI: 10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00164
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