Epidemiology of Chikungunya fever outbreak in Western Jamaica during July-December 2014

Severity and Outcomes of Dengue in Hospitalized Jamaican Children in 2018-2019 During an Epidemic Surge in the Americas

Objective

In 2019, dengue was among the "top-ten threats to global health," with 3.1 million cases reported from the Americas, the highest ever. Simultaneously, Jamaica reported its largest dengue outbreak in 40 years, following Chikungunya and Zika virus epidemics, in 2014 and 2016-2017, respectively. We describe dengue in children admitted to five hospitals in Jamaica during August 2018 through September 2019.

Methods

Hospitalized children and adolescents aged 0 to 15 years with dengue were managed using PAHO/WHO criteria. Data were extracted from questionnaires, entered into a dataset on Microsoft Excel version 2016, exported to SPSS version 20 and analyzed. Groups were compared using Student's t-test for normally distributed parametric data. Chi-square analysis, or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

There were 339 children, 245 (72.3%) aged 1-10 years, males:females 1:1. Classification was "dengue without warning signs" 53 (15.3%), "dengue with warning signs" 218 (64.3%) and "severe dengue" 68 (20%). Co-morbidities were reported in 88 (26%). Hemoglobin SC disease was associated with severe dengue with hemorrhage (p = 0.005). Organ-system involvement occurred in 334 (98.5%) including gastrointestinal 317 (93.5%), hematologic 311 (91.7%) and musculoskeletal 180 (53.1%). Thirty-nine (11.5%) had 5-7 organ-systems involved. Metabolomics emphasized increased hepatic transaminases 245 (72.3%), lactate dehydrogenase 164 (48.4%) and creatine phosphokinase 84 (24.8%) approaching the high thousands (121,560 u/L), both were markers for severe disease (p < 0.002). Thirteen (3.8%) received intensive care. Dengue was laboratory-confirmed in 220 (78.9%): NS1 antigen-positive (218); RT-PCR-positive (23), with an overlap of NS1 antigen and RT-PCR positive (21); DENV-3 serotype (20). Seventeen (5%) died, 16 (94.1%) had severe dengue and 11 (64.7%) succumbed within 24 to 48 h of admission despite resuscitation and transfusion of blood products.

Conclusion

Severe dengue with increased attributable mortality occurred in hospitalized children after Jamaica's maiden Zika epidemic.

Chikungunya in Infants and Children: Is Pathogenesis Increasing?

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was first extensively described in children during outbreaks in India and South Asia during the mid-1960s. Prior to the 2005 emergence of CHIKV on Reunion Island, CHIKV infection was usually described as a dengue-like illness with arthralgia in Africa and febrile hemorrhagic disease in Asia. Soon after the 2005 emergence, severe CNS consequences from vertical and perinatal transmission were described and as CHIKV continued to emerge in new areas over the next 10 years, severe manifestation of infection and sequelae were increasingly reported in infants and neonates. The following review describes the global reemergence and the syndromes of Chikungunya fever (CHIKF) in infants and children. The various manifestations of CHIKF are described and connected to the viral lineage that was documented in the area at the time the disease was described. The data show that certain manifestations of CHIKF occur with specific viral lineages and genetic motifs, which suggests that severe manifestations of CHIKF in the very young may be associated with the emergence of new viral lineages.