Search

Natural infection of dengue virus (DENV) in bats is an unexplored field in Colombia. To detect the presence of DENV in bats, a descriptive prospective study using a nonprobabilistic sampling was carried out; 286 bats in 12 sites were caught. Sample tissues of different animals were obtained; the RNA was obtained from tissues and a nested-RT-PCR was carried out and detected amplicons of 143 fragment of the NS5 gene were sequenced by the Sanger method. In nonhematophagous bats Carollia perspicillata and Phyllostomus discolor captured in Ayapel and San Carlos (Córdoba), respectively, an amplicon corresponding to NS5 was detected. The amplicons showed a high similarity with serotype-2 dengue virus (DENV-2). This is the first evidence of the DENV-2 genome in bats in from the Colombian Caribbean.

We aimed to assess clinical and laboratory differences between dengue and chikungunya in children <24 months of age in a comparative study. We collected retrospective clinical and laboratory data confirmed by NS1/IgM for dengue for 19 months (1 January 2013 to 17 August 2014). Prospective data for chikungunya confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction were collected for 4 months (22 September 2014-14 December 2014). Sensitivity and specificity [with 95% confidence interval (CI)] were reported for each disease diagnosis. A platelet count <150 000 cells/ml at emergency admission best characterized dengue, with a sensitivity of 67% (95% CI, 53-79) and specificity of 95% (95% CI, 82-99). The algorithm developed with classification and regression tree analysis showed a sensitivity of 93% (95% CI, 68-100) and specificity of 38% (95% CI, 9-76) to diagnose dengue. Our study provides potential differential characteristics between chikungunya and dengue in young children, especially low platelet counts., (© The Author [2017]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

In Colombia, undifferentiated tropical febrile illness (UTFI) are frequent and of considerable concern. They also share many clinical features. Between 2012 and 2013 in an endemic tropical area of Cordoba, Colombia, we conducted a prospective study to establish an etiological diagnosis of UTFI. Using diagnostic tests for dengue, leptospirosis, hantavirus, malaria, rickettsia, brucellosis, hepatitis A and B on 100 patients recruited for the study. We identified 69 patients with presumed UTFI: leptospirosis (n=27), dengue (n=26), hantavirus infection (n=4), malaria (n=4), rickettsial infection (n=2), hepatitis A (n=1), and brucellosis (n=1); no hepatitis B cases were detected. Co-infections with malaria and leptospirosis (n=1), hepatitis A and dengue (n=1), hantavirus and dengue (n=1), hantavirus, dengue, and leptospirosis (n=1) were also identified. No etiologic agent was identified for 31 patients. We conclude that other etiologic agents besides dengue virus deserve greater attention by physicians and public health authorities in tropical area of Colombia., (Copyright © 2016 King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Assessing the relationship between cases of dengue and climatic factors rainfall (PLUV), temperature (TEMP) and relative humidity (HUM) in Monteria during 2003-2008., Methods: This was a descriptive, retrospective study related to climatic variables and dengue cases in Monteria. Rainfall (PLUV), relative humidity (HUM) and temperature (TEMP) data recorded annual and monthly medians and averages. The Shapiro-Wilks correlation coefficient and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric variance tests were performed., Results: Dengue cases did not present normal distribution or significant difference. There were 1,050 cases; the highest number was reported in 2005 (305) but only 80 cases in 2004 (annual average was 175). Univariate analysis of dengue cases was not significantly influenced by HUM (R² 17 %), PLUV (R² 18.3 %) or TEMP (R² 1.8 %). HUM and PLUV variables presented high positive correlation (0.798171). TEMP and PLUV had -0.1310772 negative correlation coefficient; TEMP and HUM had -0.6048030 negative correlation. The strongest climate-dengue case correlation was associated with combining the three variables (TEMP, HUM and PLUV). The Niño and Niña continental phenomena did not influence dengue cases., Conclusions: This retrospective study showed a strong and consistent overall association between TEMP, HUM and PLUV affecting dengue transmission in Monteria.

Nonspecific acute tropical febrile illnesses (NEATFI) are common in the Latin American tropics. Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, Mayaro, and Usutu, among others, can coexist in the American tropics. This study aimed to surveil the arboviruses that cause| acute febrile syndrome in patients in the Meta department, Colombia. Between June 2021 and February 2023, an epidemiological surveillance study was conducted in the Llanos of the Meta department in Eastern Colombia. One hundred patients in the acute phase with typical prodromal symptoms of NEATFI infection who attended the emergency department of the Villavicencio Departmental Hospital were included. ELISA tests were performed for Dengue, Usutu, Chikungunya, and Mayaro. RT-qPCR was performed to detect the arboviruses Usutu, Dengue, Zika, Mayaro, and Oropouche. The seroprevalence for the Chikungunya, Mayaro, and Usutu viruses was 41 % (28/68), 40 % (27/67), and 62 % (47/75), respectively. Seroconversion for Chikungunya was observed in one patient; two seroconverted to Mayaro and one to Usutu. The NS5 gene fragment of the Usutu virus was detected in nine febrile patients. RT-qPCR of the remaining arboviruses was negative. The clinical symptoms of the nine Usutu-positive patients were very similar to those of Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, and Mayaro infections. The pervasive detection of unexpected viruses such as Usutu and Mayaro demonstrated the importance of searching for other viruses different from Dengue. Because Usutu infection and Mayaro fever have clinical features like Dengue, a new algorithm should be proposed to improve the accuracy of acute tropical fevers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV) have spread in recent decades. We aimed to assess seroprevalence of arboviral infections in pregnant women living in Cereté, Caribbean Colombia. In 2016 a cross-sectional facility-based sero-survey study was performed among pregnant women (N = 90). Most of them (66%) reported at least one symptom or sign compatible with arboviral infection over the previous 15 days. All screened women had a positive IgG for DENV, 89% for ZIKV, and 82% for CHIKV. One woman tested positive for ZIKV IgM. This study shows the high exposure among pregnant women to arboviruses in endemic areas, shown by the high seroprevalence of past arboviral infections. Given the evidence on the potential risks of these arboviral infections on pregnancy and infant outcomes, these results highlight the need for continuous epidemiological surveillance of arboviral diseases, particularly among those most of risk of their harmful consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging flavivirus transmitted primarily through arthropods, endemic in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and is considered a global threat by the World Health Organization. Objective: To evaluate a commercial Zika virus test (IgG/IgM catalog number B815C, Biocan, Canada. Methods: We evaluated 30 sera of patients diagnosed with Dengue, Leptospira, Malaria, Hantavirus, and Chikungunya. To establish the sensitivity of the test, two groups of sera were analyzed, the first one was patients with Zika RT-qPCR positive, and the second were patients RT-qPCR negative but with clinical suspicion of Zika. Results: The specificity was of 23.3% (7/30), the sensitivity in acute patients with positive RT-qPCR was of 63.6%, the patients with clinical suspicion of Zika the sensitivity (IgM) was of 80% (n = 8/10). Overall sensitivity (IgM) of both groups was of 71.4% (15/21). Conclusions: The test showed a low specificity to be used as a serological test in an endemic area of flavivirus infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]