Solomon Islands dengue seroprevalence study--previous circulation of dengue confirmed

Since there were no confirmed outbreaks of dengue on record an extensive search of available records and a seroprevalence study were undertaken to determine if there was evidence of past dengue virus infections in the Solomon Islands. Hospital and Health Department records revealed a suspected dengue outbreak in 1982 and deaths attributed to dengue in 1995 and 1996. Serum samples from blood donors were analyzed for the presence of IgG antibodies specific for flavivirus and dengue virus. A total of 39% of the 515 samples, predominantly from adult males from Honiara, demonstrated IgG antibodies specific for dengue; 28% (26 of 93) were monotypically positive by plaque reduction neutralization test for dengue 2 antibody and the remaining samples had antibodies to more than one dengue serotype. A good correlation was found between the presence of flavivirus and dengue IgG confirming that dengue virus had circulated in the past in the Solomon Islands.