Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Dengue fever is a vector-borne, acute, febrile, and self-limiting systemic viral infection that affects tropical and subtropical regions, including Pakistan. Karachi has a significant burden of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus due to suitable breeding sites, weather, and rapid and unplann...

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Main Authors: Khalid Mahmood, Muhammad Rashid, Sabeeta Kanwal Ansari, Fatima Kanani, Thomas Iftner
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-12-01
Series:Scientific Reports
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83425-0
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author Khalid Mahmood
Muhammad Rashid
Sabeeta Kanwal Ansari
Fatima Kanani
Thomas Iftner
author_facet Khalid Mahmood
Muhammad Rashid
Sabeeta Kanwal Ansari
Fatima Kanani
Thomas Iftner
author_sort Khalid Mahmood
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Dengue fever is a vector-borne, acute, febrile, and self-limiting systemic viral infection that affects tropical and subtropical regions, including Pakistan. Karachi has a significant burden of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus due to suitable breeding sites, weather, and rapid and unplanned urbanization of squatter areas. The country has limited surveillance studies on circulating serotypes of the dengue virus and the patient’s clinical features evolving over temporal changes. This study aimed to bridge the gap by screening 1500 patients using immunochromatographic detection and clinically following up on 486 of them. RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis of positive patients were performed, followed by PCR and sequencing. Data analysis and graphs were done on Prism 8.0. Males (53.87%) had a higher infection rate than females (46.13), with ages 18–60 years having the highest infection rate (69.14%). Results showed that 57.8% of patients were positive for NS1, followed by IgM (39.8%), and IgG (89.77%). DENV 1 and DENV 2 were found to be circulating, representing 20% and 80% respectively. Data on fever, shortness of breath, body aches, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and epistaxis revealed significant differences. We conclude that continuous surveillance of dengue and other Flaviviruses and their infections is necessary to improve the prognosis and management of vector-borne diseases, thereby reducing the associated mortality rate of patients in Pakistan.
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spelling doaj-art-5fdac933c1f949e886ccf6cdce4c789f2025-01-05T12:26:37ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222024-12-0114111010.1038/s41598-024-83425-0Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional studyKhalid Mahmood0Muhammad Rashid1Sabeeta Kanwal Ansari2Fatima Kanani3Thomas Iftner4National Institute of Virology, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of KarachiNational Institute of Virology, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of KarachiBahria Town International HospitalChemical Pathology Section, Indus Hospital and Health NetworkNational Institute of Virology, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences, University of KarachiAbstract Dengue fever is a vector-borne, acute, febrile, and self-limiting systemic viral infection that affects tropical and subtropical regions, including Pakistan. Karachi has a significant burden of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus due to suitable breeding sites, weather, and rapid and unplanned urbanization of squatter areas. The country has limited surveillance studies on circulating serotypes of the dengue virus and the patient’s clinical features evolving over temporal changes. This study aimed to bridge the gap by screening 1500 patients using immunochromatographic detection and clinically following up on 486 of them. RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis of positive patients were performed, followed by PCR and sequencing. Data analysis and graphs were done on Prism 8.0. Males (53.87%) had a higher infection rate than females (46.13), with ages 18–60 years having the highest infection rate (69.14%). Results showed that 57.8% of patients were positive for NS1, followed by IgM (39.8%), and IgG (89.77%). DENV 1 and DENV 2 were found to be circulating, representing 20% and 80% respectively. Data on fever, shortness of breath, body aches, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and epistaxis revealed significant differences. We conclude that continuous surveillance of dengue and other Flaviviruses and their infections is necessary to improve the prognosis and management of vector-borne diseases, thereby reducing the associated mortality rate of patients in Pakistan.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83425-0
spellingShingle Khalid Mahmood
Muhammad Rashid
Sabeeta Kanwal Ansari
Fatima Kanani
Thomas Iftner
Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional study
Scientific Reports
title Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional study
title_full Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional study
title_short Clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in Karachi from 2019 to 2023: a cross-sectional study
title_sort clinical characteristics of dengue virus infections in karachi from 2019 to 2023 a cross sectional study
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-83425-0
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