Resumo

Dengue virus (DENV) (Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) is the most important arbovirus in the world. Any of the four DENV types can cause asymptomatic disease, dengue fever or severe dengue. The four serotypes of DENV circulate in Brazil, including Minas Gerais (MG). In 2013, a great epidemic has been taking place in Minas Gerais with 313,545 suspected cases and 88,881 confirmed cases. Juiz de Fora-MG had great epidemics of DENV in last years and, until may 2013, 3,877 suspected cases and 2,981 confirmed dengue cases and one fatal case were reported, in Juiz de Fora-MG. The aim of this work was to study the serological response to DENV and haematological indicators (hematocrit and platelet count) from patients with clinical suspect of Dengue, during the 2013 epidemic in Zona da Mata- MG. Serum samples were collected from 123 symptomatic patients who were attended in a private laboratory or in the Hospital Santa Casa de Misericórdia-JF, in 2013. The samples were examined for the presence of Dengue IgM/IgG antibodies (Test Bioeasy). A total of 59 patients (47.7%) presented DENV antibodies (37 IgM positive, 9 IgG positive and 13 IgM/IgG positive). From the total of patients (59) presenting antibodies against DENV, 28 presented leucopenia, 10 presented platelet count bellow the reference values, but none presented raised hematocrit. Eight IgM positive patients presented platelet count bellow 100.000 p/mm3 which is one indicator of severe disease. Randomly, 52 samples were chosen and also tested for the presence of viral protein NS1 (NS1 Kit Bioclin) and 11 samples were positive for DENV. Our results demonstrate once more the circulation of dengue virus in Juiz de Fora, MG with a high percentage of persons with dengue infection, primary and possibly secondary infections, among the tested patients. Previous studies from our goup indicated the circulation of Dengue virus 1 and 2 during the last epidemic periods in Juiz de For a which is a concerning factor since the co-circulation of different viral serotypes in a area is a factor that could increase the incidence of severe dengue cases. Molecular tests will be carried on to trace the dengue serotypes circulating in the city during the 2013 epidemic and to perform phylogenetic analysis of those viruses. Financial support: FAPEMIG, CNPq, CAPES, UFJF, PROPESQ/UFJF.