Work

Temporal trends of dengue exposure among children in coastal Kenya

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background Serosurveys suggest widespread dengue virus (DENV) transmission in Africa but there is limited information on the temporal patterns of exposure. Methods Using repeated cross-sectional serosurvey data, we estimated the prevalence and incidence of DENV infections in coastal Kenya over 20 years (1998–2018). Stored sera ( n = 8025), collected annually from an open longitudinal cohort of 1834 children aged 15 years and below, were screened for anti-DENV IgG antibodies. Results We show that, of 8025 samples, 2287 (28.5%, 95% CI 27.5–29.5%) were seropositive for DENV IgG antibodies. Seroprevalence increased with age, from 2% among children aged below 1 year to 40% among those aged 9 to 10 years, and peaked during outbreak years. Among 1343 children who were seronegative at recruitment, the overall incidence (seroconversion) rate was 111.5 DENV infections per 1000 person-years (95% CI 102.5–121.2). The highest incidence occurred in 2013 at 439.7 infections per 1000 person-years (95% CI 375.1–515.5), coinciding with a large outbreak in coastal Kenya. Conclusions Our findings suggest long-term DENV exposure among children in coastal Kenya and highlight an urgent need for clinical surveillance to determine the associated health burden.

Source: Communications Medicine

DOI: 10.1038/s43856-026-01973-0