TITLE:
Seroprevalence of Dengue Virus IgG among Children 1 - 15 Years, Selected from an Urban Population in Karachi, Pakistan: Population Based Study
AUTHORS:
Shakeel Ahmed, Syed Rehan Ali, Farhana Tabassum
KEYWORDS:
Dengue Virus, IgG, Cross-Sectional, Thrombocytopenia, Hand-Washing, Anemia
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.5 No.2,
May
21,
2015
ABSTRACT: Objectives: This was to estimate the proportion of Dengue virus
specific IgG ELISA among asymptomatic children between the ages of 1 year to 15
years, residing in an urban population of Karachi. Design: Cross-sectional
study. Settings: Subjects were selected from Garden, Karachi; an urban area located
adjacent to the Central district of Karachi. Participants: Children of ages 1
year to 15 years, of either sex, residing in the urban area of Garden, Karachi
for more than 1 year were selected for the study. Those with a history of
yellow fever or using corticosteroids within 1 month of recruitment were
excluded. Outcome measures: Data were collected on socioeconomic status of
households, medical history, including previous dengue infection, general
examination findings and anthropometric indices. Blood samples were collected
and sent to Research Laboratories, AKU for determining complete blood counts
and serum IgG antibodies for Dengue. All collected information was then
analyzed for ascertaining the predicting factors for positive IgG among
children less than 15 years. Results: From a total of 900 subjects, 46% were
found to have positive IgG in their bloods. Our results revealed that a male
child of age more than 10 years was more likely to be IgG positive. Other risk
factors identified with the seropositivity included lower household income and
absence of anemia, thrombocytopenia and lack of hand washing. Conclusions: The
study indicated a significant proportion of children under 15-year-old infected
with Dengue virus, with a potential risk of severe complications, if
re-infected with dengue. Stringent measures are still needed by both public and
private authorities to contain dengue outbreaks, and reducing the proportion of
associated mortality, as seen in the previous years. Trial registration: Seed Money
Grant (ID# SM090101) was awarded to the corresponding author by Research
Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Pakistan.