Analysis of Immune Markers and Hematological Features in Plasmodium/Dengue Virus Co-infected Patients in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Malaria and dengue are two important vector ‑ borne infections that are common in tropical countries. In these areas, simultaneous occurrence of malaria and dengue in an individual cannot be excluded, although published reports of co ‑ infections are scarce till date. The Aims of this study were to identify dengue and malaria co-infection cases as well as to ascertain the severity of dengue and malaria in co ‑ infection based on some hematological parameters. A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to November 2019 and 385 subjects with an undifferentiated febrile illness patients were recruited at outpatient clinics and blood sample were collected. All samples were tested for dengue NS1 antigen and for dengue IgM/IgG. Malaria diagnosis was based on the identification of Plasmodium parasites on a thin and thick blood films microscopy. Among the 385 patients included in the study, 23.9% were tested positive for malaria, 32.5% were positive for dengue, and 7.01% showed concurrent infection of both malaria and dengue. Malaria and dengue co-infected patients presented lower leukocytes level (5.024±0.559) than malaria monoinfected patients (7.304± 0.388; p =0.002). A significant reduction in platelet counts was observed in co-infected patients (164.0±10.91 vs 229.1±14.32; p =0.005). Conversely, hemoglobin level was statistically lower in malaria monoinfected patients than dengue monoinfected patients ( p =0.014). Thus this study demonstrates that the diagnosis of dengue and malaria should be carried out routinely for better management of fever.