Browsing by Author "Patrick, B. N."

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    Evidence of anti-chikungunya virus igg and igm antibodies among patients seeking treatment in different health facilities in Kyela District, Tanzania
    (2018) Patrick, B. N.; Angwenyi, S.; Kinimi, E.; Shayo, M.; Hugo, M.; Kasanga, C. J.
    Chikungunya is an arboviral disease transmitted by aedes mosquitoes, caused by Chikungungunya virus. It consists of an acute illness characterized by fever, rash, and incapacitating arthralgia. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Chikungunya fever in patients presenting fever at different health facilities located in Kyela district. Out of 132 recruited patients, 94(71.2 %) were female and 38 (28.8 %) were male. The majority of them 80 (60.6%) were adults (≥25 years). Anti-Chikungunya virus anti-immunoglobulin G (IgG) and anti-immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies were detected in serum samples using indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Chikungunya virus IgG or IgM antibodies were detected in 19 among 132 serum specimens tested indicating a seroprevalence of 14.3%. Out of 132 sera tested, 14 (11%) had IgG antibodies and 5(3.8%) had IgM antibodies. The higher anti-CHIKV IgG seroprevalence was found in female patients (OR= 3.22; 95% CI: 1.03-10.06) than in male. Similarly patients who took some medication before going to the health centre were found with high CHIKV IgG antibodies (OR= 13.912; 95% CI: 1.76-109.78) as well as in patients who never been vaccinated (OR=4.6; 95%CI: 0.02 – 1.71). Additionally, the uni-variate analysis results revealed, feeling nausea as the symptom of significant association with Chikungunya IgG seropositivity (OR = 4.5; 95% CI: 1.3– 14.4). These findings confirm that CHIKV infection seems to be among the common causes of febrile illness in Kyela district and appears to be actively circulating in the population but is routinely misdiagnosed. This suggests a need to raise awareness among health facilities and policy makers on the use of specific diagnosis for better control of arbovirus diseases in the study region.
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    Evidence of chikungunya virus infection among febrile patients seeking healthcare in selected districts of Tanzania
    (Taylor & Francis, 2018) Kinimi, E.; Shayo, M. J.; Patrick, B. N.; Angwenyi, S. O.; Kasanga, C. J.; Weyer, J.; Vuren, P. J.; Paweska, J. T.; Mboera, L. E.G.; Misinzo, G.
    Introduction: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection is an emerging mosquito-borne disease that has been associated with frequent epidemics in the world. However, there is a dearth of information on its magnitude and associated risk factors in Tanzania. Objective: A study was conducted to determine seroprevalence of CHIKV among febrile patients seeking medical care at health facilities in Karagwe, Sengerema, Kilombero and Kyela districts. Methods: Structured questionnaires were administered and 728 serum samples were col- lected between May and June, 2015 and tested for the presence of CHIKV-IgM and IgG- specific antibodies using Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results and discussion: The common clinical characteristics exhibited by outpatients were fever, headache and joint pains (100%, 70%, and 68.3% respectively). Out of 728 outpatients screened for CHIKV, 105 (14%) tested CHIKV IgG positive whilst 11 (1.5%) tested CHIKV IgM positive. Chikungunya seropositivity was significantly higher than previously reported in Tanzania. The most affected age group was 20–29 years. Our results indicate that CHIKV infection is prevalent and contributes to the burden of febrile illnesses in Tanzania. The seroprevalence varies between districts, reflecting variation in mosquito vector transmission dynamics in different parts of the country. Received 23 September 2018 Accepted 19 November 2018 KEYWORDS Chikungunya; seroprevalence; febrile illness; mosquito-borne; Tanzania Abbreviations: CHIKV: Chikungunya virus; EDTA: Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; ELISA: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; IgG: Immunoglobulin G; IgM: Immunoglobulin M; NIMR: National Institute for Medical Research; RU: Relative Units; SACIDS: Southern African Centre for Infectious Disease Surveillance; USA: United States of America