Heterogeneity of dengue transmission in an endemic area of Colombia

by Mar ía Isabel Estupiñán Cárdenas, Víctor Mauricio Herrera, María Consuelo Miranda Montoya, Anyela Lozano Parra, Zuly Milena Zaraza Moncayo, Janeth Patricia Flórez García, Isabel Rodríguez Barraquer, Luis Ángel Villar Centeno Population based serological surveys are the gold-standard to quantify dengue (DENV) transmission. The purpose of this study was to estimate the age-specific seroprevalence and the force of infection of DENV in an endemic area of Colombia. Between July and October 2014, we conducted a household ba sed cross-sectional survey among 1.037 individuals aged 2 to 40 years living in 40 randomly selected locations in urban Piedecuesta, Santander, Colombia. In addition, we also enrolled 246 indviduals living in rural “veredas”. Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire that included demogr aphic, socioeconomic and environmental questions and to provide a 5 ml blood sample. Sera were tested using the IgG indirect ELISA (Panbio) kit to determine past DENV infection. The overall DENV seroprevalence was 70% (95% CI = 67%-71%), but was significantly higher in urban (81%, 95% CI = 78%-83%) as compared to rural (21%, 95% CI = 17%-27%) locations. Age was a major predictor of seropositivity, consistent with endemic circulation of the virus. Using catalytic models we estimated that on average, 12% (95%CI = 11%-13%) of susceptible individuals living in the city are infected by DENV each ye ar. Beyond age, the only predictor of seropositivity in urba...
Source: PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases - Category: Tropical Medicine Authors: Source Type: research