[Imported XXXX in Switzerland--serological evidence for a hitherto unexpectedly high prevalence].

@entity1 @entity778 @entity1800 @entity311 @entity779 @entity166
@entity779 is probably the most important arthropod-borne @entity1800 worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates an incidence of 100 million cases per year. @entity779 is of clinical importance mainly in tropical and subtropical zones, but the increasing number of travellers visiting these endemic areas means that physicians in temperate zones will meet this @entity166 more frequently. To estimate the frequency of @entity779 in Switzerland, we retrospectively analyzed a cohort of @entity1 in whom clinicians wished to rule out a case of @entity311 on the assumption that some of these @entity1 may have been exposed to @entity778 while travelling in tropical and subtropical areas. @entity779 was diagnosed by serology on contemporary stored serum samples with a commercially available assay that has been evaluated before. During the study period (1.1.93 to 1.7.94) a @entity311 diagnosis was requested by the physicians in our center in 87 cases and @entity311 was diagnosed in 10 (11.5%). In 38 of these 87 cases a stored serum sample was available for dengue serology. All of these @entity1 had visited an area where not only @entity311 but @entity778 was endemic. In 7 of these 38 cases (18%) @entity311 was diagnosed. In 3 @entity1 (8%) the dengue serology (IgM and IgG) was indicative of @entity779 . All 3 cases had clinical findings compatible with the disease. In 4 more patients (10%) anti-dengue IgG antibodies were found. All of these 4 @entity1 had previous exposure to @entity778 but no acute clinical illness.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
