Magaji Ado Mahmoud*, Muhammad Yalwa Gwarzo and Faruk Sarkinfada
Several reports on the prevalence dengue virus antibodies among febrile subjects from different parts of Nigeria suggest that dengue fever is endemic in Nigeria. However, there are no in-country surveys or national reports on dengue disease burden or guidelines for detection, management, prevention and control of Dengue. A knowledge and policy gap is therefore identified, with the need to determine the magnitude of dengue virus immunoglobulinaemia among apparently healthy individuals as a proxy to the burden of Dengue fever infection and the need for national guidance on its management. We conducted a prospective cross sectional study to determine the seroprevalence of Dengue virus Immunoglobulinaemia among 391 voluntarily consenting Ante-Natal Clinic attendees and Blood Donors at two secondary health facilities in Dutse, Jigawa State, North west Nigeria. Serum samples from the subjects were tested for the presence of Dengue Immunoglobulin M and / or Immunoglobulin G using dengue rapid diagnostic test kit. Results showed that the seroprevalence of dengue immunoglobulinaemia was 33% among the study population comprising of; IgM 58 (14.8%), IgG 48 (12.3%) while 23 (5.9%) had both IgM & IgG immunoglobulins in their sera. We concluded that this significant level of anti-dengue antibodies among apparently healthy subjects in this study, reinforce the need to have a deliberate health policy for the clinical management and control of dengue in Nigeria.
