Dengue fever cases were first confirmed in the Côte d’Ivoire, or Ivory Coast in late April. Days later, the Ministry of Health (MoH) of Côte d’Ivoire notified World Health Organization (WHO) of a dengue fever outbreak in the capital city of Abidjan.

An Aedes aegypti mosquito prepares to bite a human. Image/USDA
An Aedes aegypti mosquito prepares to bite a human.
Image/USDA

As of 11 July 2017, a total of 623 suspected cases including two deaths (case fatality rate: 0.3%) have been reported. A total of 192 cases have been confirmed by PCR, of which 66% were dengue virus serotype 2 (DENV-2), 29% were DENV-3 and 5% were DENV-1. In addition, 90 samples were confirmed IgM positive by serology.

The majority of cases have been reported from Abidjan city. Cocody Bingerville health district accounted for 78% of cases and 80% of all confirmed cases. The general trend of suspected cases of dengue fever is increasing.

In addition, coinfection with yellow fever was suspected in 68 cases and confirmed in one case.

Vector control interventions including elimination of mosquito breeding sites by source reduction measures (destroying, altering, removing or recycling non-essential containers that provide larval habitats) and fumigation for the elimination of adult mosquitoes are ongoing. Over 17,000 households were inspected and over 250,000 mosquito breeding sites were eliminated and/or treated.

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Surveillance is being improved with active case finding, sample collection for laboratory confirmation, and dissemination of the case definition. The private health sector is contributing to disease surveillance and management.

In addition, community engagement strengthening is another pillar of the ongoing response. Political, religious and community leaders are being sensitized on the prevention and control of dengue virus. The MoH has engaged the town mayors in the outbreak control measures.

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