Dengue virus (DENV) is a positive stranded RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae and genus Flavivirus that is spread by arthropods. The four different dengue virus serotypes (DENV 1–4) are all spread by Aedes mosquitoes, primarily Aedes aegypti and to a lesser extent Aedes albopictus [1, 2]. All serotypes are known to produce the whole spectrum of dengue fever (DF) illnesses and share similar geographic patterns and host/vector interactions [3, 4].
Dengue fever (DF) is a fast growing acute febrile disease with potentially lethal consequences that is a global public health problem, mostly in tropical and subtropical countries [5, 6]. This infection can result in a variety of clinical illnesses, from asymptomatic or moderate febrile disease to classic DF to the most serious types of illness, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS) [7, 8]. The main clinical signs of each category would be a persistent high fever lasting 2–7 days, bleeding indicated by petechiae, epistaxis, a positive tourniquet test, or thrombocytopenia, and shocks from plasma leakage indicated by hemoconcentration (hematocrit above 20%), pleural effusion, and ascites [9].
The dengue fever is endemic in many countries across the WHO regions of Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Pacific [4, 5], though the Americas, South-East Asia, and the Western Pacific are the most severely affected, Asia accounting for 70% of the global DF disease burden (10). Dengue virus infects 390 million individuals worldwide, with 96 million developing clinical symptoms that result in 500,000 hospitalizations and 25,000 fatalities each year [5, 10].
The epidemiology of DF in Africa is poorly understood, despite the fact that all DENV serotypes circulate in many of the continent's nations, and the vector mosquitoes are abundant in the neighboring Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa [9]. With an estimated burden of 25% (21–29%) by IgG, 10% (9–11%) by IgM, and 14% (12–16%) by viral RNA assays, DENV infection appears to be a considerable burden for public health in the region of Sub-Saharan Africa [11]. Additionally, numerous countries in the region have suffered DF outbreaks that have been reported to the Africa CDC [12], including Burkina Faso in 2016 and 2017, Côte d'Ivoire in 2017, Cape Verde in 2009, and Egypt in 2015.
Ethiopia has a low level of research on DF despite the fact that the virus is still being transmitted and viral infection rates are rising [13]. In the first DF outbreak reported in 2013, which was in the Dire Dawa city administration in the east of the country, 12,000 suspected cases of DF were registered. Of these, 88 cases were confirmed by ELISA and RT-PCR, and 50 of these cases were found to be positive for DENV infection [14]. In Dire Dawa city, Godey Town, and the Adar area of the Afar region the next year, numerous further outbreaks were noted year-round fashion [15, 16]. In a few serological studies, DENV infections from various regions of the country were reported, including 7.5% current and 13.0% past DENV infections from northwest Ethiopia [7], 22.9% anti-IgG and 7.9% anti-IgM DENV infections from the Borena zone in southern Ethiopia [17], and 25.1% anti-IgG and 8.1% anti-IgM DENV infections from the Arba Minch district [8]. Overall the prevalence of DENV infection is vary in Ethiopia [18–23].
Due to its global distribution, DENV infections should be closely monitored and any outbreaks should be quickly identified in order to reduce the resulting mortality and morbidity. However, it is well known that low-income countries like Ethiopia lack the infrastructure and resources required for effective surveillance of this disease. This systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of DENV infection markers; DENV-specific Immunoglobulin G (IgG), Immunoglobulin M (IgM), and DENV RNA in Ethiopia.