Co-circulation and misdiagnosis led to underestimation of the 2015-2017 Zika epidemic in the Americas.

ABSTRACT: During the 2015-2017 Zika epidemic, dengue and chikungunya-two other viral diseases with the same vector as Zika-were also in circulation. Clinical presentation of these diseases can vary from person to person in terms of symptoms and severity, making it difficult to differentially diagnose them. Under these circumstances, it is possible that numerous cases of Zika could have been misdiagnosed as dengue or chikungunya, or vice versa. Given the importance of surveillance data for informing epidemiological analyses, our aim was to quantify the potential extent of misdiagnosis during this epidemic. Using basic principles of probability and empirical estimates of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity, we generated revised estimates of reported cases of Zika that accounted for the accuracy of

SUBMITTER: Oidtman RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7951986 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature