Volume 18, Number 2—February 2012
Research
Unsuspected Dengue and Acute Febrile Illness in Rural and Semi-Urban Southern Sri Lanka
Megan E. Reller
, Champika Bodinayake, Ajith Nagahawatte, Vasantha Devasiri, Wasantha Kodikara-Arachichi, John J. Strouse, Anne Broadwater, Truls Østbye, Aravinda de Silva1, and Christopher W. Woods1
, Champika Bodinayake, Ajith Nagahawatte, Vasantha Devasiri, Wasantha Kodikara-Arachichi, John J. Strouse, Anne Broadwater, Truls Østbye, Aravinda de Silva1, and Christopher W. Woods1Table 2
Demographic characteristics of febrile patients with or without evidence of dengue virus infection, southern Sri Lanka, 2007*
| Characteristic | Acute dengue, n = 54† | Past dengue, n = 410† | Not dengue, n = 395† | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median age, years (IQR) | 27.6 (22.4–44.5) | 41.3 (27.0–53.4) | 21.7 (13.3–35.3) | 0.0001 |
| Male | 68.5 | 66.3 | 54.9 | 0.002 |
| Residence | 0.001 | |||
| Rural | 86.8 | 88.2 | 95.4 | |
| Urban | 13.2 | 11.8 | 4.6 | |
| Type of work | <0.001 | |||
| Home | 11.5 | 25.9 | 27.8 | |
| Laborer | 19.2 | 32.4 | 18.3 | |
| Farmer, e.g., rice paddy | 5.8 | 3.0 | 2.3 | |
| Merchant | 3.9 | 4.0 | 2.1 | |
| Student | 13.5 | 7.3 | 37.8 | |
| Other | 46.2 | 27.4 | 11.8 | |
| Swim/bathe/wade in freshwater | 0.63 | |||
| None | 74.1 | 73.1 | 76.4 | |
| River | 20.4 | 13.5 | 12.2 | |
| Paddy field | 3.7 | 10.8 | 9.1 | |
| Pond/lake | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | |
| Other | 1.9 | 1.7 | 1.3 | |
| Water source | 0.003 | |||
| Tap | 42.6 | 35.1 | 25.5 | |
| Boiled | 3.7 | 8.8 | 10.2 | |
| Well | 51.9 | 54.9 | 64.4 | |
| Other | 1.9 | 1.2 | 0 |
*Except for median age, data are percentages. IQR, interquartile range.
†Values are percentages unless otherwise stated.
1These authors contributed equally to this article.
