Detection of selected arboviral infections in patients with history of persistent fever in Pakistan

Surveillance is a valuable tool for understanding prevailing and previously undiagnosed infections in a geographic area. We examined 480 archived serum samples from patients with history of persistent fever (>40 °C, 60–72 h) who were referred to hospitals in Rawalpindi/Islamabad, Lahore, and Faisalabad districts for dengue antibody detection in 2014-15. Each sample was processed for detection of antigens and seroconversion, using real-time polymerase chain reaction and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, respectively, against dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) virus serotypes 1–4, West Nile virus fever (WNVF), Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF), and Chikungunya virus (CGV). The presence of antigens and antibodies to at least one of the studied viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) was detected in 465 (96.8%, 95% CI: 94.9–98.1) and 442 samples (92.1%, 95% CI: 89.3–94.2), respectively. No sera were found positive to CCHF. There was a significant association between gender and positivity to at least one of the VHFs (χ2 = 8.12, df = 1, p < 0.005). Except for DHF serotype 2 and 3 (ττ = 0.41), Goodman and Kruskal's Tau statistic revealed no significant association for occurrence of different viruses within the studied population (ττ = 0–0.06). Cosinor analysis confirmed significant seasonality, with a higher number of cases of persistent fever in August through November, peaking in October. The study suggests circulation of multiple arthropod-borne viral infections and, in addition to DHF, ascertain the needs for screening patients for CGV and WNVF too. It also demonstrates the necessity of well-integrated disease surveillance in several geographic regions and at-risk populations in Pakistan to develop appropriate disease and vector control strategies.