Conference Abstract | Volume 8, Abstract ELIC2025107 (Poster 020) | Published: 29 Jul 2025
Nonye Juliana Ezeonyejiaku1,2,3, Muhammad Shakir Balogun3,4, Joseph Ojonugwa Shaibu5, Maria Cassia Mendes-Correa6, Layla Honorato6, Shalom Ezeilo3,7, Dayo Akanbi3,8, Pius Ikenna Ononigwe3,9, Jennifer Kinslow10, Gavin Cloherty10, Daniel Douek10, Ugwu Chinedu10, John Klena10, Carolyn Strobel10, Alan Landay10, Alicen Spaudling10, Francisco Averhoff10
1Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, 2Ministry of Health, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, 3Nigeria Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (NFELTP), Abuja, Nigeria, 4African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), Abuja, Nigeria, 5Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos State, Nigeria, 6Infectious Disease Department, Tropical Medicine Institute-School of Medicine, Sao Paulo University, Brazil, 7Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria, 8Nigerian Correctional Service, Minna K-9 Unit, Niger State, Nigeria, 9Africa CDC Western Africa Regional Coordination Centre, Banjul Gambia, 10Abbott Diagnostics, and Abbott Pandemic Defense Coalition (APDC), Abbott Park, IL, USA
&Corresponding author: Nonye Juliana Ezeonyejiaku, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. Email: nonyeobijiaku@gmail.com,
Received: 30 Mar 2025, Accepted: 09 Jul 2025, Published: 29 Jul 2025
Domain: Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Keywords: Dengue virus, Malaria, Risk Factors, DENV-3, Anambra state
©Nonye Juliana Ezeonyejiaku et al Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health (ISSN: 2664-2824). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Cite this article: Nonye Juliana Ezeonyejiaku et al Prevalence and risk factors for dengue virus infection and malaria among febrile patients in Anambra State, Nigeria, 2024. Journal of Interventional Epidemiology and Public Health. 2025;8(ConfProc5):00164 https://doi.org/10.37432/jieph-confpro5-00164
Dengue virus and malaria parasites are mosquito-borne pathogens causing febrile illness among people in tropical and subtropical regions. Dengue, often misdiagnosed as malaria, is an epidemic-prone disease in over 90 countries across all WHO regions. We conducted surveillance to determine the dengue serotypes, prevalence and risk factors of dengue and burden of malaria among febrile patients in public hospitals in Anambra State, Nigeria.
We conducted a cross-sectional study of consenting febrile patients (≥ 1 year of age) from May 2024 – July 2024 in two public tertiary healthcare facilities in Anambra State, Nigeria. We administered semi-structured questionnaires and collected information on socio-demographic characteristics, risk factors and exposures, and clinical features. We collected blood samples for serology (IgG, IgM and NS1) and multiplex real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for dengue and examined thick blood smears for malaria parasites under microscopy. We computed frequencies and proportions and conducted logistic regression analysis to estimate adjusted odds ratios.
Out of 353 participants, 221 (62.6%) were female. The mean age was 29.9 years, and 86.4% resided in urban areas. Dengue infection was identified in 29 (8.2%) of participants. Malaria was identified in 172 (48.7%). Dengue and malaria co-infection rate was detected in 15 (4.5%) participants. Dengue was associated with a higher educationalattainment (p=0.043). Urban residents were less likely to test positive for malaria (AOR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.22-0.82). Only dengue serotype 3 was detected by RT-PCR.
Dengue virus, serotype 3, was found to be prevalent among febrile patients in Anambra State, Nigeria, where it frequently presents as coinfection with malaria. Serotype 3 dengue was consistent with previous investigations of serotypes in Nigeria. Testing for the dengue virus should be considered routinely for patients presenting for care with fever.
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