Prospective study of the duration and magnitude of viraemia in children hospitalised during the 1996-1997 dengue-2 outbreak in French Polynesia

The magnitude and duration of viraemia in children admitted to the hospital with dengue was studied during a dengue 2 outbreak in French Polynesia in 1996-1997. Forty-nine patients from whom at least 3 plasma samples were ava ilable were included in the study. Based on analysis of ISG-ELISA and haema gglutination inhibition assay, 21 of these were primary and 28 were seconda ry infections. According to World Health Organization criteria, 42 were den gue fever and 7 were dengue haemorrhagic fever. Virus was detectable by rev erse transcription-PCR in all patients for at least the first 3 days of the onset of fever, but was never detected after the 6th day (mean duration = 4.4 days). Plasma virus titers ranged from 1.7-5.6 Log(10) TCID50/ml. A sig nificant difference was not observed in the magnitude and duration of virae mia in patients with primary versus secondary infections. The severity of t he illness, however, was correlated with both criteria. J. Med. Virol. 60:4 32-438, 2000. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.