Detection and identification of dengue-2 virus from Santa Cruz-Bolivia by a single tube RT-PCR method

Abstract

Dengue virus type 1 was introduced to Brazil in 1986 where it produced outbreaks in several states. In August of 1987 it made its first appearance in Santa Cruz-Bolivia where the infestation rate by Aedes aegypti was over 20%. In that first Bolivian Dengue outbreak, the only serotype isolated in C6/36 mosquito cells by the CDC was Dengue virus type 1, bearing the same genotype as the one isolated in Brazil. No cases of DHF nor fatalities were officially reported in Bolivia. Although only 6841 cases were clinically reported, due to the lack of diagnostic capabilities in Bolivia, the WHO estimated that the real number of people infected by the virus was over 200,000 (50% of the population in Santa Cruz in that time).