Sero-prevalence of Dengue virus and associated risk factors among healthy individuals in Karu Local Government, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, 2016

Introduction : dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection that mimics malaria and other febrile illnesses and is often misdiagnosed as malaria especially where routine diagnosis of dengue is not done. Recently global incidence of dengue has grown dramatically putting half of the world’s population at risk (WHO). This study aimed at determining the prevalence of dengue infection, identifying most at risk population and associated factors among the study population. Methods : descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among apparently healthy individuals at Karu LGA, Nasarawa State using multistage sampling. Questionnaires were administered and samples obtained and tested using ELISA IgG technique. Data was analysed using Epi-info-7 at P Results : there were 354 recruited participants, 186 (52.5%) males. Antibodies against dengue virus was found in 4.8% (95% CI: 2.8% - 7.6%) of all the samples. About 4.8% (95% CI: 2.2% - 9.0%) of both males and females tested positive for dengue antibodies. Age group u003e45years and farmers have the highest sero-prevalence 22.6% (95% CI: 9.6% - 41.1%) 18.6% (95% CI: 8.4% -33.4%), respectively for dengue antibodies. Also, individuals with informal education had sero-prevalence of 26.3% (95% CI: 9.1% - 51.2%) compared to individuals with tertiary education 6.1% (95% CI: 0.74% - 20.2%). Conclusion : there was high prevalence of dengue among the study population. We identified age group 45years, lack of formal education, and local farming as the factors for higher risk to Dengue fever. We recommend improved dengue surveillance, inclusion of dengue testing in health facilities for febrile illnesses.