Dengue virus circulation in West Africa: An emerging public health issue

Dengue is the most widespread arbovirosis in the world, with approximately 390 million cases per year, 96 millions of which have clinical manifestations and 25,000 deaths. In West Africa, the circulation of this virus in human populations was first reported in the 1960s in Nigeria. Clinical diagnosis of dengue in West Africa is made difficult by the existence of other diseases with similar clinical presentations. Biological diagnosis remains therefore the only alternative. This biological diagnosis requires high quality equipment and well-trained personnel, which are not always available in resource-limited countries. Thus, many cases of dengue fever are consistently reported as malaria, leading to mismanagement, which can have serious consequences on the health status of patients. It is therefore necessary to set up surveillance systems for febrile infections of unknown origin in Africa by strengthening the diagnostic capacities of national laboratories.

Automated summary

Dengue fever diagnosis in West Africa is challenging due to similar clinical presentations with other diseases, making biological diagnosis the only alternative. However, resource-limited countries often lack high-quality equipment and trained personnel, leading to misdiagnosis of dengue fever as malaria and serious health consequences for patients.