Epidemiological studies on dengue virus type 3 in Playa municipality, Havana, Cuba, 2001–2002

Guzman, Maria G.; Alvarez, Angel; Vazquez, Susana; Alvarez, Mayling; Rosario, Delfina; Pelaez, Otto; Cruz, Guillermo; Rodriguez, Rosmari; Pavon, Alequis; Gonzalez, Annia; Morier, Luis; Ruiz, Dydie; Kouri, Gustavo; Halstead, Scott B.

doi:10.1016/j.ijid.2011.09.026

« Previous Next »International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 16, Issue 3 , Pages e198-e203, March 2012

Epidemiological studies on dengue virus type 3 in Playa municipality, Havana, Cuba, 2001–2002

Maria G. Guzman
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +53 7 2020450; fax: +53 7 2046051.
Angel Alvarez
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Susana Vazquez
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Mayling Alvarez
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Delfina Rosario
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Otto Pelaez
- Provincial Public Health and Epidemiology Center, Havana City, Cuba
Guillermo Cruz
- Municipal Public Health and Epidemiology Center, Miramar, Playa, Havana, Cuba
Rosmari Rodriguez
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Alequis Pavon
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Annia Gonzalez
- Municipal Public Health and Epidemiology Center, Miramar, Playa, Havana, Cuba
Luis Morier
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Dydie Ruiz
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Gustavo Kouri
- Department of Virology, PAHO/WHO Collaborating Center for the Study of Dengue and its Vector, “Pedro Kouri” Tropical Medicine Institute, Autopista Novia del Mediodía km 6, PO Box 601, Marianao 13, Havana, Cuba
Scott B. Halstead
- Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Received 2 August 2010; received in revised form 30 August 2011; accepted 1 September 2011. published online 25 January 2012.

Corresponding Editor: William Cameron, Ottawa, Canada

Summary

Objectives

Recognizing the uniqueness of secondary dengue virus (DENV)-1/3 dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS) cases at an interval of 24 years, we sought to estimate DENV infections as well as the ratios between mild disease and DHF/DSS by DENV infection sequence in Playa District (Havana, Cuba) during the 2001–2002 outbreak of dengue virus type 3 (DENV-3).

Methods

A retrospective seroepidemiological study was conducted in 2003 in Playa District. Blood samples were collected from a 1% random sample of residents and were studied for the prevalence of dengue neutralizing antibodies.

Results

DENV-3 was found to have infected 7.2% (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 6.0–8.4%) of susceptible individuals (the entire cohort), the majority of whom experienced silent infections. Virtually every individual who had a secondary infection in the sequence DENV-1 then DENV-3 became ill, with a ratio of severe to mild cases of 1:35 (95% CI 1:67–1:23). Secondary infections in the sequence DENV-2/3 were less pathogenic than DENV-1/3. Mild disease accompanying secondary DENV2/3 occurred at a ratio of 1:4.49 infections (95% CI 1:5.77–1:3.42) secondary infections.

Conclusions

The results obtained highlight the role of the infecting serotype and also the sequence of the viral infection in the clinical outcome of a dengue infection.

Keywords: Dengue, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, Cuba, Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, Dengue virus type 3