Table 2.
Characteristic features of dengue outbreaks in central and western Nepal
| Variables | Subgroup | Central (N = 293) | Western (N = 110) | Total (N = 403) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outbreak period | – | August–December | September–December | August–December | – |
| Number of endemic districts | – | 6 | 6 | 12 | – |
| Serotypes | – | All 4 | DENV-1, -2 | All 4 | – |
| Age in years, median (IQR) | – | 30.0 (22.0–44.0) | 28.0 (21–37.8) | 29.5 (21.3–40.0) | 0.407 |
| Age group (years) | ≤ 15 | 36 (12.3) | 17 (15.5) | 53 (13.2) | 0.402 |
| > 15 | 257 (87.7) | 93 (84.5) | 350 (86.8) | ||
| Sex | Male | 192 (65.5) | 66 (60.0) | 258 (64.0) | 0.303 |
| Residence | Urban | 210 (71.7) | 90 (81.8) | 300 (74.4) | 0.041 |
| Rural | 83 (28.3) | 20 (18.2) | 103 (25.6) | ||
| Prior visit to clinics | Yes | 137 (46.8) | 47 (42.7) | 184 (45.7) | 0.469 |
| No | 156 (53.2) | 63 (57.3) | 219 (54.3) | ||
| Clinical spectrum* | DF | 245 (83.6) | 85 (77.3) | 330 (81.9) | 0.301 |
| DHF | 45 (15.4) | 24 (21.8) | 69 (17.1) | ||
| DSS | 3 (1.0) | 1 (0.9) | 4 (1.0) | ||
| Immune response† | Primary | 96 (48.0) | 16 (20.3) | 112 (40.1) | < 0.001 |
| Secondary | 104 (52.0) | 63 (79.7) | 167 (59.9) | ||
| Patient management | Outpatient | 38 (12.9) | 11 (10.0) | 49 (12.2) | 0.416 |
| Inpatient‡ | 255 (87.1) | 99 (90.0) | 354 (87.8) |
DOI = days postonset of illness; DF = dengue fever; DHF = dengue hemorrhagic fever; DSS = dengue shock syndrome; ICU = intensive care unit; IQR = interquartile range. Figures in the parenthesis indicate percentages unless otherwise indicated. P value was calculated using Mann-Whitney U test for age and χ2 test for other categorical variables.
*
DHF and DSS were considered severe dengue.
†
Data based on dengue patients (N = 279) with paired sera available for immune response determination.
‡
Inpatient data also includes 11 (2.7%) ICU patients (nine from central and two from western Nepal).