SERODIAGNOSIS OF DENGUE FEVER IN AN OUTBREAK IN SWAT, PAKISTAN

Background: Dengue is a major health problem around the world and contributes in high rate of morbidity and mortality. The objective of the study was to determine the frequency, time and place distribution of the dengue fever epidemic in District Swat. Material & Methods: This hospital based, cross-sectional study was conducted in District Head Quarter Teaching Hospital Swat, KPK, Pakistan from August 07 to October 31, 2013, during dengue epidemic. Total of 9032 dengue suspected patients were registered on consecutive sampling technique. Demographic variables were gender, age groups and residence. Research variables were Dengue non-hemorrhagic and Dengue hemorrhagic fever. Blood samples were collected from non-hemorrhagic dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever patients. Serum was obtained by centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes after blood samples were properly clotted. Qualitative detection of dengue virus NS1 antigen was done on commercially available ICT-SD Dengue NS1 kit (Standard Diagnostic, South Korea) following manufacturer instructions. Data analysis was carried out by using SPSS version 19. All variables being categorical were analyzed by frequency and percentages. Results: Out of 9032 dengue suspected patients serum samples, 8638(96%) were found positive for dengue NS1 antigen. Out of 8638(96%) positive cases on NSI, 5889(68%) patients were males and 2749(32%) were females. The age group wise distribution of the male and female Dengue virus NS1 Antigen positive cases with the age group 21-30 was the modal age group. Conclusion: The highest incidence of dengue fever was observed in young people. Effective awareness campaigns should be initiated at local, provincial and national level by health departments.