Significant gaps persist in detecting dengue and co-circulating arboviruses affecting children in Dhaka, Bangladesh, due to limited surveillance. National dengue guidelines focus on laboratory tests at referral centers, often inaccessible to Dhaka's general population, and do not recommend testing for cross-reactive viruses like chikungunya and Zika These viruses co-circulate with dengue, though their burdens are poorly documented and they may be misdiagnosed. Our study aims to estimate the incidence and co-circulation of chikungunya and Zika among a sub-sample of baseline participants from our dengue cRCT. This study will involve testing children aged 2 to 12 in Dhaka for IgG antibodies to chikungunya and Zika to address a critical gap in public health surveillance in Bangladesh, and offer insights for improving screening, diagnosis, and prevention for these co-circulating arboviruses.

Funding by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Investigators and collaborators: Kate Zinszer, Mohammad Shafiul Alam, Mabel Carabali, Valéry Ridde, Mohammad Sharif Hossain, and Katia Charland.

Our partners

The study is being implemented in partnership with Mohammad Shafiul Alam of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).