Acute Flavivirus and Alphavirus Infections among Children in Two Different Areas of Kenya, 2015

Jimmy Hortion Département de Biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France;
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California;

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Francis M. Mutuku Department of Environment and Health Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa, Mombasa, Kenya;

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Ana L. Eyherabide Departamento de Pediatría, Sanatorio de Niños, Rosario, Argentina;

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David M. Vu Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California;

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Derek B. Boothroyd Quantitative Science Unit, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California;

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Elysse N. Grossi-Soyster Departamento de Pediatría, Sanatorio de Niños, Rosario, Argentina;

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Charles H. King Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio;

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Bryson A. Ndenga Centre for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya

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A. Desiree LaBeaud Departamento de Pediatría, Sanatorio de Niños, Rosario, Argentina;

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Alphaviruses and flaviviruses are known to be endemic in Eastern Africa, but few data are available to evaluate the prevalence of these infections. This leads to missed opportunities for prevention against future outbreaks. This cohort study investigated the frequency of alphavirus and flavivirus incident infections in two regions of Kenya and identified potential risk factors. Seroconversions for alphavirus and flavivirus infections were identified by immunoglobulin G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (IgG-ELISA) in a cohort of 1,604 acutely ill children over the year 2015. The annual incidence was 0.5% (0.2–1.2%) for alphaviruses and 1.2% (0.7–2.2%) for flaviviruses. Overall, seroprevalence was significantly higher for alphaviruses in western Kenya than on the coast (P = 0.014), whereas flavivirus seroprevalence was higher on the coast (P = 0.044). Poverty indicators did not emerge as risk factors, but reliance on household water storage was associated with increased exposure to both alphaviruses and flaviviruses (odds ratio = 2.3).

Author Notes

Address correspondence to Jimmy Hortion, Département de Biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon 69342, France. E-mail: jimmy.hortion@ens-lyon.fr

Conflicts of Interest: C. K. and D. L. report grants from National Institutes of Health during the conduct of the study.

Authors’ addresses: Jimmy Hortion, Département de Biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Lyon, France, E-mail: jimmy.hortion@ens-lyon.fr. Francis M. Mutuku, Department of Environment and Health Sciences, Technical University of Mombasa, Mombasa, Kenya, E-mail: fmutuku73@gmail.com. Ana L. Eyherabide, Departamento de Pediatría, Sanatorio de Niños, Rosario, Argentina, E-mail: anaeyherabide@gmail.com. David M. Vu, Elysse N. Grossi-Soyster, and A. Desiree LaBeaud, Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, E-mails: davidvu@stanford.edu, elysse@stanford.edu, and dlabeaud@stanford.edu. Derek B. Boothroyd, Quantitative Science Unit, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, E-mail: derekb@stanford.edu. Charles H. King, Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, E-mail: chk@case.edu. Bryson A. Ndenga, Centre for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute, Kisumu, Kenya, E-mail: bndenga@yahoo.com.

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