Seroprevalence of Dengue Virus IgG among Children 1 - 15 Years, Selected from an Urban Population in Karachi, Pakistan: Population Based Study

Objectives: This was to estimate the proportion of Dengue virus specific IgG ELISA among asymptomatic children between the ages of 1 year to 15 years, residing in an urban population of Karachi. Design: Cross-sectional study. Settings: Subjects were selected from Garden, Karachi; an urban area located adjacent to the Central district of Karachi. Participants: Children of ages 1 year to 15 years, of either sex, residing in the urban area of Garden, Karachi for more than 1 year were selected for the study. Those with a history of yellow fever or using corticosteroids within 1 month of recruitment were excluded. Outcome measures: Data were collected on socioeconomic status of households, medical history, including previous dengue infection, general examination findings and anthropometric indices. Blood samples were collected and sent to Research Laboratories, AKU for determining complete blood counts and serum IgG antibodies for Dengue. All collected information was then analyzed for ascertaining the predicting factors for positive IgG among children less than 15 years. Results: From a total of 900 subjects, 46% were found to have positive IgG in their bloods. Our results revealed that a male child of age more than 10 years was more likely to be IgG positive. Other risk factors identified with the seropositivity included lower household income and absence of anemia, thrombocytopenia and lack of hand washing. Conclusions: The study indicated a significant proportion of children under 15-year-old infected with Dengue virus, with a potential risk of severe complications, if re-infected with dengue. Stringent measures are still needed by both public and private authorities to contain dengue outbreaks, and reducing the proportion of associated mortality, as seen in the previous years. Trial registration: Seed Money Grant (ID# SM090101) was awarded to the corresponding author by Research Committee, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Pakistan. Corresponding author.