New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) There has been a significant increase in the intensity of dengue virus transmission in Pune in Maharashtra over a decade, according to a study by the National Institute of Virology (NIV).

The Pune-based institute, which is part of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), stated that since more than 85 per cent of the participants of the study above nine years of age had exposure to DENV (dengue virus) by 2019, dengue vaccine introduction can be considered.

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Moreover, such repeated serosurveys in different regions might inform about the readiness of the population for dengue vaccination, according to the study, titled "Seroprevalence of dengue virus infection in Pune City in India, 2019: A decadal change".

As part of the study, the seroprevalence of dengue was investigated in Pune in early 2019 using 1,654 sera from apparently healthy human participants enrolled randomly through multi-stage cluster sampling.

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An analysis of dengue serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies revealed DENV-3 as the dominant serotype. The dengue IgG seroprevalence of 62.9 per cent in 2009 increased to 88.4 per cent in 2019.

Age-stratified dengue seroprevalence revealed a gradual increase in IgG seropositivity from 70.1 per cent in zero-nine years to 85 per cent in 10–19 years.

"There was a significant increase in the intensity of dengue virus transmission in Pune City over the decade. Since over 85 per cent of the participants above nine years of age had exposure to DENV by 2019, dengue vaccine introduction can be considered," the researchers said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)