Incidence of lab-confirmed dengue fever in a pediatric cohort in Delhi, India

BackgroundOur aim was to estimate the overall and age-specific incidence of lab-confirmed dengue fever using ELISA based assays among children 6 months to 15 years in Delhi. MethodsWe enrolled a cohort of 984 children aged 6 months to <14 years in South Delhi and followed-up weekly for fever for 24 months or till 15 completed years of child-age. Households of the enrolled children were geo-tagged. NS1, IgM and IgG assays were conducted using ELISA method to confirm dengue fever in children with >= 3 consecutive days of fever. Molecular typing was done in a subset of NS1 positive cases to identify the circulating serotypes. Principal findingsWe had a total of 1953 person-years (PY) of follow up. Overall, there were 4208 episodes of fever with peaks during June to November. The overall incidence (95%CI) of fever was 215/100 PY (209 to 222). A total of 74/1250 3-day fever episodes were positive for acute dengue fever (NS1 and/or IgM positive). The overall incidence (95%CI) of acute dengue fever was 37.9 (29.8 to 47.6) per 1000 PY; highest among children aged 5 to 10 years (50.4 per 1000 PY, 95% CI 36.5 to 67.8). Spatial autocorrelation analysis suggested a clustering pattern for the dengue fever cases (Moran's Index 0.35, z-score 1.8, p = 0.06). Dengue PCR was positive in 16 of the 24 specimens tested; DEN 3 was the predominant serotype identified in 15/24 specimens. ConclusionsWe found a high incidence of dengue fever among under 15-year children with clustering of cases in the community. DEN 3 was the most commonly circulating strain encountered. The findings underscore the need for development of affordable pre-vaccination screening strategy as well as newer dengue vaccines for young children while continuing efforts in vector control. Author summarySouth Asian countries especially the Indian subcontinent contributes the highest to the global burden of dengue. The number of dengue cases reported in India is likely an underestimate of the actual disease burden and there is a clear lack in the availability of population-based data on incidence of dengue in India. In our pediatric cohort of 984 children aged 6 months to 15 years from Delhi, India, we found a high incidence of lab-confirmed dengue fever, with the highest burden among 5 to 10 year old children. Dengue fever was observed to be highest in the post-monsoon months with significant clustering of cases in the community. DEN 3 was the most commonly circulating strain encountered. Given the high burden in children, the findings highlight the need for strengthening efforts to developing newer dengue vaccines for younger children.

Automated summary

The study found a high incidence of lab-confirmed dengue fever among children aged 6 months to 15 years in Delhi, India, with the highest burden among 5 to 10 year olds. Dengue fever was most common in the post-monsoon months and showed significant clustering in the community. The most commonly circulating strain identified was DEN 3. The high incidence among children underscores the need to develop new dengue vaccines for younger age groups.