Abstract
Dengue virus (DENV) infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Vietnam, and the incidence is higher and more consistent in the southern part of the country. This study investigated the circulation of DENV serotypes, viremia levels, immunological status, and cytokine levels, with disease severities among children infected in 2017 in Ho Chi Minh City, Southern Vietnam. Acute and convalescent serum samples were collected from clinically diagnosed dengue children. They were confirmed to have DENV infection by NS1 antigen, IgM and IgG ELISAs, virus isolation, and conventional and real-time RT-PCR. Measurement of 10 cytokine levels was performed in the serum samples. All the children were dengue IgM positive; 28% and 72% of them had primary and secondary DENV infections, respectively, whereas 54% of those with secondary infection were children with dengue with warning signs and with severe dengue. Any or mixed infection of the four serotypes of DENV RNA was detected in 58 children. Twenty DENV strains (DENV-1 = 16 and DENV-4 = 4) were isolated. Levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α, MCP-1, IL-10, and IL-6 were significantly higher in severe dengue cases. We report the predominance of DENV-1 over other serotypes in the 2017 dengue outbreak in Southern Vietnam. Our data showed that cytokine expressions were correlated with dengue pathogenesis and may help in identifying an effective therapeutic strategy.