Scientists meet on dengue fever

By Rebecca Kwei
Dengue fever has been identified as a major public-health concern throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world.
Health experts say it is the most rapidly spreading mosquito-borne viral disease with a 30-fold increase in global incidence over the past 50 years.
Dengue fever, which has been identified in the Americas, Asia and Africa, is an acute viral disease characterised by a sudden onset of fever for three to five days, with intense headache, joint and muscle pain, pain behind the eyes, nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances and rash.
Minor bleeding, such as gum and nose bleeding, may occur at any time during the febrile phase.
Hitherto, a neglected tropical disease, it is an infectious disease transmitted by the aedes mosquito and is characterised by rash and aching head and joints and also causes severe flu-like illness.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that 50-100 million dengue infections occur each year and that almost half of the world’s population live in countries where dengue is endemic.
However, in spite of the fact that the presence of all four dengue viruses is established in Africa, little is known about the incidence of the disease, the morbidity and the economic impact of the disease in Africa.
In furtherance to this, a meeting has been held in Accra to assess the current situation of dengue transmission in Africa and the need for research and future control strategies.
The meeting was a collaboration between the International Research Consortium on Dengue Risk Assessment, Management and Surveillance (IDAMS) based in Germany and the INDEPTH Network.
The IDAMS Coordinator, Dr Thomas Jänisch, said not much was known about dengue in Africa and there was the need to uncover the burden of the disease in Africa and response mechanisms put in place.
He said because the clinical presentation of the dengue fever was similar to malaria, it was possible that the dengue fever had been masked by malaria in many countries.
Dr Jänisch said the meeting identified gaps in the current evidence base of the disease and also a research agenda agreed upon as a coordinated action was required to manage the disease in Africa.
On the global trends of dengue, he said there was no effective control strategy for the disease, with the results of first vaccine candidate efficacy trial in 2012 showing disappointing results.
According to Dr Raman Velayudhan of the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva, because the disease has taken the world by surprise, the WHO has developed a global strategy for dengue prevention and control (2012-2020) to reduce the burden of the disease.
He said the specific objectives were to reduce mortality and morbidity from dengue by 2020 by at least 50 per cent and 25 per cent respectively using 2010 as the baseline.
The Executive Director of INDEPTH Network, Prof. Osman Sankoh, said the collaboration would enable them to network to highlight the potential that dengue might have on public health in Africa.
He said because the network generated data it would enable them to provide information on dengue to relevant authorities to monitor progress, as well as learn from other countries on how they had managed dengue outbreaks.