Investigation of Dengue Exposure and Infection in Ghanaian Children with Malaria

dc.contributor.advisorAwandare, G.A.
dc.contributor.advisorStoler, J
dc.contributor.authorDelimini, R.K.
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Ghana, College of Health Sciences, School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences , Department of Medical Biochemistry
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-25T12:19:10Z
dc.date.accessioned2017-10-13T17:59:28Z
dc.date.available2016-02-25T12:19:10Z
dc.date.available2017-10-13T17:59:28Z
dc.date.issued2014-07
dc.descriptionThesis (MPhil) - University of Ghana,2014
dc.description.abstractBackground: Dengue and malaria are two important mosquito-borne diseases. Together, both diseases are indistinguishable due to similarities in clinical and laboratory characteristics. These similarities have contributed immensely to the over-diagnosis of malaria and the under-recognition of dengue in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa. No baseline study has yet been conducted in Ghana to estimate the burden of dengue. This study therefore set out to estimate the prevalence of dengue infection in a population of Ghanaian children confirmed with malaria. Methods: Archived plasma samples, obtained from 216 study participants aged 2-14 years enrolled in a malaria study, were tested for the presence of dengue using Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase PCR, dengue Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) and dengue IgM/IgG capture ELISA. The study was conducted in three ecological zones of Ghana namely: Kintampo, Navrongo and Accra. Results: Dengue RDT and dengue IgM/IgG capture ELISAs estimated a prevalence of 54% and 24%, respectively. Dengue IgG capture ELISA showed that majority of seropositive study participants were positive for IgG (20%) and this was statistically significant between Kintampo and Navrongo. Estimated IgM/IgG ratio of 0.11 indicated that dengue infection was as a consequence of a previous exposure. Further analysis showed that 22% of the study population were confirmed with exposure to dengue-malaria while exposure to malaria only, dengue only and absence of either diseases was confirmed in 70%, 2% and 6% of study population respectively. Molecular tests indicated negative for dengue in all study participants. Conclusion: Results in the study suggest an exposure to dengue virus in a subset of Ghanaian population. However, the inability to detect and identify circulating serotype calls for more research in this regard.en_US
dc.format.extentxii, 101p. ill
dc.identifier.urihttp://197.255.68.203/handle/123456789/7676
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Ghanaen_US
dc.rights.holderUniversity of Ghana
dc.titleInvestigation of Dengue Exposure and Infection in Ghanaian Children with Malariaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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