Surveillance for Flaviviruses Near the Mexico-U.S. Border: Co-circulation of Dengue Virus Serotypes 1, 2, and 3 and West Nile Virus in Tamaulipas, Northern Mexico, 2014-2016

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2018 Nov;99(5):1308-1317. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.18-0426.

Abstract

A clinical, serological, and molecular investigation was performed to determine the presence of dengue virus (DENV) and other flaviviruses among residents of the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, on the Mexico-U.S. border in 2014-2016. The sample population consisted of 2,355 patients with suspected dengue, in addition to 346 asymptomatic individuals recruited during a household-based epidemiological investigation designed to identify flavivirus seroconversions. Sera were collected from patients with suspected dengue in the acute phase of illness and from asymptomatic individuals at enrollment and every 5-7 months for 19 months. Sera from suspected dengue patients were tested for DENV antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and select antigen-positive sera were further tested using a serotype-specific, quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Sera from the household cohort were tested for flavivirus-reactive antibodies by immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG ELISAs using DENV antigen. A total of 418 (17.7%) patients with suspected dengue had laboratory-confirmed DENV infections, including 82 patients who were positive for DENV RNA. The most frequently detected serotype was DENV-1 (61 patients), followed by DENV-2 (16 patients) and DENV-3 (five patients). A total of 217 (62.7%) asymptomatic individuals had flavivirus-reactive antibodies at enrollment, and nine flavivirus-naïve individuals seroconverted. Sera from a subset of dengue patients and household participants, including all those who seroconverted, were further tested by plaque reduction neutralization test, resulting in the detection of antibodies to DENV-1, DENV-2, and West Nile virus. In summary, we provide evidence for the co-circulation of multiple flaviviruses in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, on the Mexico-U.S. border.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Asymptomatic Infections / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cohort Studies
  • Dengue / epidemiology*
  • Dengue Virus / genetics
  • Dengue Virus / isolation & purification
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Family Characteristics
  • Female
  • Flavivirus / genetics
  • Flavivirus / isolation & purification*
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Mexico / epidemiology
  • Middle Aged
  • Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Serogroup*
  • West Nile Fever / epidemiology*
  • West Nile virus / genetics
  • West Nile virus / isolation & purification
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral