Peláez SO, Tejera DJF, Ayllón CM, del Risco LJL, Guzmán TMG, Mas BP

Language: Spanish
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ABSTRACT

Objective: describe the main characteristics and evolution of clinical and seroepidemiological surveillance of dengue in Havana.
Methods: a descriptive study was conducted of the clinical and seroepidemiological surveillance system for dengue and its evolution in Havana in the period 1997- 2016, as well as of aspects related to its operation and the role it has played in the detection of epidemic outbreaks. A review was made of files, databases and other investigations: a cross-sectional study about febrile cases and a retrospective cohort study to examine the association, clinical manifestations and predictive values of the definition of suspect case. A description is provided of the essential operational variables of the system.
Results: clinical and seroepidemiological surveillance of dengue in Cuba was based on active search and follow-up of febrile cases by community doctors and nurses. As a result, 659 083 serum samples have been processed in Havana for detection of dengue virus specific IgM antibodies. A study about the prevalence of febrile cases revealed statistically significant differences between the rates found and those reported by the regular system. The definition of dengue suspect case exhibited high sensitivity, but its specificity was very low. However, specificity improved as new clinical manifestations were added to the definition.
Conclusions: clinical and seroepidemiological surveillance of dengue has strengthened its integrated analysis capabilities for early detection and timely response to the occurrence of outbreaks, by means of an appropriate use of the case definitions and the generation of information required for timely decision taking for their control. The lessons learned have served as technical and logistic support for the surveillance of other arbovirus infections.