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. 2015 Jul 15;10(7):e0132645.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132645. eCollection 2015.

Seroprevalence of Infections with Dengue, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya Viruses in Kenya, 2007

Caroline Ochieng  1 , Petronella Ahenda  1 , Amy Y Vittor  2 , Raymond Nyoka  3 , Stella Gikunju  1 , Cyrus Wachira  1 , Lilian Waiboci  4 , Mamo Umuro  5 , Andrea A Kim  3 , Leonard Nderitu  6 , Bonventure Juma  3 , Joel M Montgomery  3 , Robert F Breiman  7 , Barry Fields  3
Affiliations

Seroprevalence of Infections with Dengue, Rift Valley Fever and Chikungunya Viruses in Kenya, 2007

Caroline Ochieng et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Arthropod-borne viruses are a major constituent of emerging infectious diseases worldwide, but limited data are available on the prevalence, distribution, and risk factors for transmission in Kenya and East Africa. In this study, we used 1,091 HIV-negative blood specimens from the 2007 Kenya AIDS Indicator Survey (KAIS 2007) to test for the presence of IgG antibodies to dengue virus (DENV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV).The KAIS 2007 was a national population-based survey conducted by the Government of Kenya to provide comprehensive information needed to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Antibody testing for arboviruses was performed on stored blood specimens from KAIS 2007 through a two-step sandwich IgG ELISA using either commercially available kits or CDC-developed assays. Out of the 1,091 samples tested, 210 (19.2%) were positive for IgG antibodies against at least one of the three arboviruses. DENV was the most common of the three viruses tested (12.5% positive), followed by RVFV and CHIKV (4.5% and 0.97%, respectively). For DENV and RVFV, the participant's province of residence was significantly associated (P≤.01) with seropositivity. Seroprevalence of DENV and RVFV increased with age, while there was no correlation between province of residence/age and seropositivity for CHIKV. Females had twelve times higher odds of exposure to CHIK as opposed to DENV and RVFV where both males and females had the same odds of exposure. Lack of education was significantly associated with a higher odds of previous infection with either DENV or RVFV (p <0.01). These data show that a number of people are at risk of arbovirus infections depending on their geographic location in Kenya and transmission of these pathogens is greater than previously appreciated. This poses a public health risk, especially for DENV.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Seroprevalence of dengue, Rift Valley fever and chikungunya virus infections in Kenya.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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