HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rocha, C. Articles by Kochel, T. J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Rocha, C. Articles by Kochel, T. J.

Comparison of Two Active Surveillance Programs for the Detection of Clinical Dengue Cases in Iquitos, Peru

Endemic dengue transmission has been documented in the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru, since the early 1990s. To better understand the epidemiology of dengue transmission in Iquitos, we established multiple active surveillance systems to detect symptomatic infections. Here we compare the efficacy of distinct community-based (door to door) and school absenteeism–based febrile surveillance strategies in detecting active cases of dengue. Febrile episodes were detected by both systems with equal rapidity after disease onset. However, during the period that both programs were running simultaneously in 2004, a higher number of febrile cases in general (4.52/100 versus 1.64/100 person-years) and dengue cases specifically (2.35/100 versus 1.29/100 person-years) were detected in school-aged children through the community-based surveillance program. Similar results were obtained by direct comparison of 435 participants concurrently enrolled in both programs (P < 0.005). We conclude that, in Iquitos, community-based door-to-door surveillance is a more efficient and sensitive design for detecting active dengue cases than programs based on school absenteeism.

Received August 26, 2008. Accepted for publication January 6, 2009.

Financial support: This study was funded by the US Department of Defense Military Infectious Diseases Research Program, Work Unit 62787_870_S_B0001.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or the US Government. Study protocols were approved by the Naval Medical Research Center Institutional Review Boards (NMRC2001.0008 and NMRC2003.0008) in compliance with all Federal regulations governing the protection of human subjects. Claudio Rocha, Amy C. Morrison, Patrick J. Blair, James G. Olson, Jeffrey D. Stancil, and Tadeusz J. Kochel are military service members or employees of the US Government. This work was prepared as part of their official duties. Title 17 U.S.C. 105 provides that "Copyright protection under this title is not available for any work of the United States Government." Title 17 U.S.C. 101 defines a US Government work as a work prepared by a military service members or employees of the US Government as part of those person’s official duties.

^* Address correspondence to Tadeusz J. Kochel, 3230 Lima Pl, Washington, DC 20521-3230. E-mail: tad.kochel{at}med.navy.mil

Authors’ addresses: Claudio Rocha, Brett M. Forshey, Patrick J. Blair, James G. Olson, Jeffrey D. Stancil, and Tadeusz J. Kochel, Naval Medical Research Center Detachment, 3230 Lima Pl, Washington, DC 20521-3230, Tel: (51-1) 614-4141. Amy C. Morrison and Thomas W. Scott, Department of Entomology, University of California, 1 Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616-8584, Tel: 530-754-4196. Moises Sihuincha, Hospital de Apoyo, Av. Cornejo Portugal 1710, Iquitos, Loreto, Peru, Tel: (51-65) 265-731.