Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Oct;146(13):1635-1641.
doi: 10.1017/S0950268818001425. Epub 2018 Jun 4.

Autochthonous spread of DENV-3 genotype III in Malaysia mitigated by pre-existing homotypic and heterotypic immunity

K K Tan  1 , S Nellis  1 , N I Zulkifle  1 , S Sulaiman  1 , S AbuBakar  1
Affiliations

Autochthonous spread of DENV-3 genotype III in Malaysia mitigated by pre-existing homotypic and heterotypic immunity

K K Tan et al. Epidemiol Infect. 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Dengue virus type 3 genotype III (DENV-3/III) is widely distributed in most dengue-endemic regions. It emerged in Malaysia in 2008 and autochthonously spread in the midst of endemic DENV-3/I circulation. The spread, however, was limited and the virus did not cause any major outbreak. Spatiotemporal distribution study of DENV-3 over the period between 2005 and 2011 revealed that dengue cases involving DENV-3/III occurred mostly in areas without pre-existing circulating DENV-3. Neutralisation assays performed using sera of patients with the respective infection showed that the DENV-3/III viruses can be effectively neutralised by sera of patients with DENV-3 infection (50% foci reduction neutralisation titres (FRNT50) > 1300). Sera of patients with DENV-1 infection (FRNT50 ⩾ 190), but not sera of patients with DENV-2 infection (FRNT50 ⩽ 50), were also able to neutralise the virus. These findings highlight the possibility that the pre-existing homotypic DENV-3 and the cross-reacting heterotypic DENV-1 antibody responses could play a role in mitigating a major outbreak involving DENV-3/III in the Klang Valley, Malaysia.

Keywords: Arbovirus; Malaysia; dengue virus; immunity; infectious disease.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Overview of DENV-3 isolated from the UMMC between 2005 and 2011. A total of 99 DENV-3 isolates were identified and sequenced. DENV-3/I (blue) was the main DENV-3 recovered during the period 2005–2009. DENV-3/III (red) was first recovered in 2007.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Map of the Klang Valley, showing the geographical distribution of DENV-3 isolates recovered from UMMC between 2005 and 2007. (a) 2005–2007, (b) 2005, (c) 2006 and (d) 2007. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the DENV-3 isolates and linked to their corresponding genotype. Blue and red markers indicate the Malaysian DENV-3/I and DENV-3/III, respectively.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Map of the Klang Valley, showing the geographical distribution of DENV-3 isolates recovered from UMMC between 2008 and 2011. (a) 2008–2011, (b) 2008, (c) 2009, (d) 2010 and (e) 2011. Phylogenetic analysis was performed on the DENV-3 isolates and linked to their corresponding genotype. Blue, green and red markers indicate the location of patients infected with Malaysian DENV-3/I, DENV-3/II and DENV-3/III, respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bhatt S et al. (2013) The global distribution and burden of dengue. Nature 496(7446), 504–507. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ravanini P et al. (2011) Imported dengue virus serotype 3, Yemen to Italy, 2010. Emerging Infectious Diseases 17(5), 929–931. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moi ML et al. (2010) Importation of dengue virus type 3 to Japan from Tanzania and Cote d'Ivoire. Emerging Infectious Diseases 16(11), 1770–1772. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huang JH et al. (2012) Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of dengue viruses imported into Taiwan during 2008–2010. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 87(2), 349–358. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sabin AB (1952) Research on dengue during World War II. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 1(1), 30–50. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources