Prevalence of malaria and dengue co-infections among febrile patients during dengue transmission season in Kassala, eastern Sudan

Abstract

Background Malaria and dengue are common mosquito-borne diseases around the world that cause high mortality and morbidity. The number of cases of both diseases is currently rising in Sudan and is associated with climate and environmental changes. Limited information is available on malaria and dengue co-infections and the severity of the two diseases among febrile patients in eastern Sudan. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the prevalence of malaria and dengue co-infections among febrile patients in Kassala, eastern Sudan. Methodology/Principal findings A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted among febrile patients from September to December 2019. A total of 395 patients were enrolled after consenting to participate in the study. Demographic and clinical data were collected by structured questionnaires. Blood samples were provided to diagnose malaria infections using microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for serology diagnosis of dengue using enzyme-linked immune sorbent assay (ELISA) IgM. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between demographic information, clinical symptoms and malaria and dengue co-infections. Out of 395 febrile patients examined 158 (40%) were malaria positive and 67 (17%) were dengue positive. The prevalence of malaria and dengue co-infections was 6.6% (26/395). Results of multiple logistic regression indicated that elder patients (41–60 years) had less rate of co-infections (OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.81, p-value = 0.018), while patients of co-infections were eight times more likely to have fatigue, and two times more likely to suffer from joint and muscle pain and this difference was statistically significant with (OR = 8.3, 95% CI: 1.89 to 37.22, p-value = 0.005) and (OR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.10 to 5.39, p-value = 0.027), respectively. Conclusions/Significance This study confirmed the existence of malaria and dengue co-infections among febrile patients in Kassala, eastern Sudan for the first time. The severity of clinical symptoms of patients with malaria and dengue co-infections was observed, and the co-infections were found prevalent among young people.