Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in West Sumatera, Indonesia, 2009 Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever in West Sumatera, Indonesia, 2009

Abstract

In December 2009, 23 people were diagnosed with dengue fever in a village in Western Sumatera, Indonesia. This was unusual because in Indonesia, dengue fever usually occurs in the rainy season and December is in the dry season; dengue usually occurs in low elevations and these villages are in the highlands; and the area was dengue free for the past five years. We conducted a case-control study to determine the risk factors, with cases matched by age, village and gender. Eighteen cases (78.3%) were hospitalized and there were deaths. Most cases lived in Tigo Balai and Matur Hilir Villages, and had an incidence of 2.1/1,000 population. Fever (≥38°C), nausea, vomiting and intense headache were the most common signs and symptoms. All cases had thrombocytopenia and a 20% drop in hematocrit. The strongest risk factor was no activity to eliminate mosquito breeding sites, with adjusted OR 4.8, 95% CI 3.3-7.8 and p-value 0.04.

Keywords: dengue, fever, risk factor, Indonesia