Version 1
: Received: 15 May 2021 / Approved: 17 May 2021 / Online: 17 May 2021 (13:19:32 CEST)
How to cite:
Kawonga, F.; Misinzo, G.; Pemba, D.; Mboera, L.; Shawa, I.T. Seroprevalence and Clinical Presentation of Chikungunya Virus Infection among Febrile Outpatients Seeking Health Care in Mzuzu City, Malawi. Preprints2021, 2021050387 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202105.0387.v1).
Kawonga, F.; Misinzo, G.; Pemba, D.; Mboera, L.; Shawa, I.T. Seroprevalence and Clinical Presentation of Chikungunya Virus Infection among Febrile Outpatients Seeking Health Care in Mzuzu City, Malawi. Preprints 2021, 2021050387 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202105.0387.v1).
Cite as:
Kawonga, F.; Misinzo, G.; Pemba, D.; Mboera, L.; Shawa, I.T. Seroprevalence and Clinical Presentation of Chikungunya Virus Infection among Febrile Outpatients Seeking Health Care in Mzuzu City, Malawi. Preprints2021, 2021050387 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202105.0387.v1).
Kawonga, F.; Misinzo, G.; Pemba, D.; Mboera, L.; Shawa, I.T. Seroprevalence and Clinical Presentation of Chikungunya Virus Infection among Febrile Outpatients Seeking Health Care in Mzuzu City, Malawi. Preprints 2021, 2021050387 (doi: 10.20944/preprints202105.0387.v1).
Abstract
Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by Chikungunya virus (CHIKV. We conducted this study determine the seroprevalence and clinical presentation of Chikungunya infection among outpatients seeking healthcare in Mzuzu City, Malawi. Blood samples were collected from malaria negative and non-septic febrile outpatients with fevers ≥38 °C, for not more than 5 days. The enzyme- linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test was used to detect anti-CHIKV IgM antibodies and its results were used to determine seroprevalence of Chikungunya. A total of 119 serum samples were tested, of these, 73 (61.3%) tested positive for anti-CHIKV IgM antibodies by ELISA. Laboratory requisition forms were used to capture demographic information such as age, sex, clinical signs and symptoms presented by the enrolled patients. Age groups of 1-9, 10- 19, 20- 29, 30- 39, 40- 49, and ≥50 years had 17.8% (n= 13), 12.3 %,( n=9), 15.1%) (n=11), 19.2%; (n=14), 17.8% (n=13) and 17.8% (n=13) proportion of seroprevalence respectively. Most of the CHIKV infected individuals presented with fever (52.05%), joint pain (45.21%) and abdominal pain (42.67%). The presence of anti- CHIKV IgM antibodies suggest the presence of recent CHIKV infection and therefore accurate laboratory assays are highly recommended for CHIKV diagnosis and appropriate management of febrile patients.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
