Seroprevalence of dengue in school children in Mexico ages 6-17 years, 2016.

Background: Dengue is the most important arboviral disease in the world. Seroprevalence has been proposed as a marker of endemicity, however, studies are scarce. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, stratified cluster, random sample study to measure the seroprevalence of antibodies to dengue virus (DENV) in Mexico. The target population was school children ages 6-17 y from 22 endemic states in Mexico, clustered in four regions: Pacific, South-Central, Southeast and Low. Results: A total of 2134 subjects provided blood samples for immunoglobulin G antibody detection in serum by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Overall, the seroprevalence of antibodies against DENV was 33.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 27.5 to 40.1). The Southeast had the highest regional seroprevalence, reaching 70.9% (95% CI 60.3 to 79.7). Seroprevalence was higher in older children in the Southeast region: 62.1% (95% CI 46.9 to 75.2) in children 6-8 y and 82.6% (95% CI 73.8 to 88.9) in 13-17 years old (y). However, this was not consistent in all regions. Seroprevalence was associated with dengue incidence. Conclusions: DENV seroprevalence in Mexico was found to be heterogeneous at the country, regional and state levels. Seroprevalence was linked to long-term exposure and did not adequately reflect recent patterns of transmission, suggesting that utilization of a single epidemiological indicator to define endemic regions should be avoided.