A cross sectional study of dengue virus infection in febrile patients presumptively diagnosed of malaria in Maiduguri and Jos plateau, Nigeria.

Background: In Nigeria, where malaria is endemic, greater than 70% of febrile illnesses are treated presumptively as malaria, often without a laboratory evaluation for other possible causes of fever. This cross-sectional study evaluated the presence of dengue virus infection in febrile patients, presumptively diagnosed of malaria infections in the clinic.

Methodology: Blood samples were collected from 529 febrile patients (246 in Jos and 283 in Maiduguri) attending the general outpatient clinics of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) and tested for anti-dengue immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG), as well as anti-non-structural protein (NS1) by ELISA.

Molecular characterization of group A rotavirus strains detected in children with diarrhea admitted to Nigerian hospitals in 2013.

Group A rotaviruses (RVA) are the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) in children worldwide and cause up to 455,000 deaths annually, mostly in developing countries. During 2013, 66 RVAs from children with AGE admitted to four Nigerian hospitals were investigated. The G3P[6], G1P[8] and G2P[4] genotypes predominated.

Prophylactic platelets in dengue: survey responses highlight lack of an evidence base.

Dengue is the most important arboviral infection of humans. Thrombocytopenia is frequently observed in the course of infection and haemorrhage may occur in severe disease. The degree of thrombocytopenia correlates with the severity of infection, and may contribute to the risk of haemorrhage.