The 1993 dengue 2 epidemic in North Queensland: a serosurvey and comparison of hemagglutination inhibition with an ELISA

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1998 Sep;59(3):457-61. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1998.59.457.

Abstract

An epidemic of dengue type 2 infection occurred in North Queensland during 1992 and 1993. A random serosurvey of 1,000 residents of a population that experienced this epidemic only during 1993 was conducted to determine the proportion of the population at risk for secondary infection in the event of another epidemic with a different serotype. The ability of an ELISA to detect prior exposure to the dengue virus was compared with the hemagglutination inhibition assay. Dengue 2 virus plaque-reduction neutralization assays were performed to evaluate the specificity of the antibody response. Antibodies to dengue virus, or closely related flaviviruses, were detected in 61.9%. Seroprevalence increased with age and correlated well with known previous epidemics in the region. The sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA was 99.2% and 96.2%, respectively. An estimated 26% of the population was infected during the 1993 epidemic.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age Distribution
  • Aged
  • Antibodies, Viral / blood*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Dengue / epidemiology*
  • Dengue Virus / immunology*
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Hemagglutination Inhibition Tests
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neutralization Tests
  • Prevalence
  • Queensland / epidemiology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • Antibodies, Viral