Dengue virus infection in Ethiopia: A Systematic review and Meta-analysis

Dengue virus infection is caused by a positive stranded RNA virus called Dengue virus, which is spread by arthropods. It is a fast growing acute febrile disease with potentially lethal consequences that is a global public health problem, mostly in tropical and subtropical countries. In Ethiopia dengue fever is understudied despite the fact that the virus is still being transmitted and viral infection rates are rising. This systematic review and meta-analysis was aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of DENV infection in Ethiopia. A literature search was done on PubMed, Hinari and Google Scholar databases to identify studies published before July, 2023. Random effects and fixed effects models were used to estimate pooled prevalence of all the three markers. The Inconsistency Index was used to assess the level of heterogeneity. A total of 11 articles were included in this review. Majority of the studies had moderate risk of bias and no study had a high risk of bias. A meta-analysis estimated pooled IgG prevalence of 21% (95% CI: 19-23), a pooled prevalence of IgM 9% (95%CI: 4-13) and a pooled DENV-RNA prevalence of 48% (95% CI: 33-62). There is evidence of possible publication bias in IgG but not found in the rest of markers. The prevalence of DENV infection is high in Ethiopia. Healthcare providers, researchers and policymakers should give more attention to dengue fever.