Dengue Outbreak during Ongoing Civil War, Taiz, Yemen

Abstract

We identified dengue in ≈51% of patients given a clinical diagnosis of suspected dengue in Taiz, Yemen, during 2016. The cosmopolitan genotype of dengue virus type 2 was most common; viruses appeared to have originated in Saudi Arabia. Damage to public health infrastructure during the ongoing civil war might enable dengue to become endemic to Yemen.

Keywords: Taiz; Yemen; arbovirus; civil war; conflict; dengue; dengue virus; dengue virus type 2; displacement; outbreak; vector-borne infections; viruses; zoonoses.

Figure 1

Locations of hospitals and medical centers in Taiz, Yemen, where dengue virus samples were obtained during 2016: 1, Aljawharah Medical Center; 2, Gulf Hospital; 3, Alrefaee Hospital; 4, Althawrah Hospital; 5, Altawn Hospital; 6, Alrawdhah Hospital; 7, Alsawidy Hospital; 8, Palastein Hospital; 9, Alboraihy Hospital; 10, Alhekmah Hospital; 11, Dr. Sadek Shogaa Center. Top inset shows location of Taiz in Yemen (black shading), and bottom inset shows location of collection area in Taiz (black shading).

Figure 2

Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic tree of dengue virus type 2 isolates from Taiz, Yemen, 2016 (top branch), and reference isolates. The tree was constructed by using envelope gene sequences. Numbers on nodes indicate bootstrap values (%) for 1,000 replicates. Only bootstrap values >70% are indicated. Scale bar indicates nucleotide substitutions per site.