Dengue infection: A common cause of febrile syndrome in patients from Quibdó, Chocó, Colombia

Abstract

Introduction: Quibdó, a municipality in Chocó, has poor public services and weather and social conditions that favor dengue transmission. However, there are few studies about this problem in this district.

Objective: To determine the frequency of dengue infection in patients with acute febrile syndrome and to compare clinical features among dengue infected patients with other febrile diseases.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from January, 2008, to March, 2010. The study population comprised patients with febrile syndrome of seven or fewer days of evolution, recruited from hospitals in the town. Dengue diagnosis was made in serum samples by detection of IgM antibodies, NS1 antigen, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation. Clinical and laboratory information from the patients was obtained.

Results: During the study period, 469 patients with acute febrile syndrome were recruited, of whom 98.3% were Afro-descendant. Dengue fever was found in 28.4% of the cases. Four dengue serotypes were identified with DENV-1 predominance. The ages ranged from zero to 76 years. From all patients, 70.7% of cases were classified as dengue without warning signs. Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, cough, nasal congestion and sore throat were significantly more frequent in patients with another febrile disease.

Conclusions: Active surveillance of the acute febrile syndrome allowed for the detection of undiagnosed cases of dengue; the observed frequency of this infection suggests that the study area has a high risk of dengue infection.