Prevalence of Dengue Fever in Nigeria - A Scoping Review

Limited studies have investigated the seroprevalence of dengue viruses (DENVs) in Nigeria. Furthermore, there is no active surveillance program in place. Consequently, this study sought to determine the seroprevalence of DENV in relevant studies published in all six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

The scoping review was carried out using the Arksey and O'Malley framework. Twelve electronic databases were searched for relevant articles using a predesigned search strategy consisting of Mesh terms and Boolean search operators "AND" "OR."

Out of a total of 2646 articles, 21 met the inclusion criteria. The results showed a high prevalence of dengue in Nigeria. The southeast and northwest zones had a prevalence of 70.8% and 64.8%, respectively. There was heterogeneity in the reviewed studies, in which enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used in 80%. Two studies used polymerase chain reaction and the detected serotypes were DENV 1 and DENV 2. The use of more than one laboratory method for the detection of DENV showed high sensitivity and specificity.

Based on the above findings, it is deduced that dengue is hyperendemic in Nigeria, but there is no uniform data, only a few laboratory-backed seroprevalences are available in some parts of the country. Given this, it is advocated that there is a need for the public health authorities in Nigeria in collaboration with partners to establish a surveillance program to plan prevention and control efforts. It will also give evidence about the need to make vaccines available to especially those at higher risk.