Importance of molecular tools in arbovirus and malaria disease coinfection detection in humans, Bobo- Dioulasso, western Burkina Faso

In tropical regions, arbovirus disease and malaria co-circulate currently; consequently, co-infection of both diseases can be found and complicates the diagnosis and treatment process with potentially high morbidity and mortality. This study was designed to demonstrate the co-circulation of arbovirus infection and malaria in Bobo-Dioulasso, as well as the importance of molecular tools in the early detection of coinfection. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, between June 2023 and August 2023. Participants were included based on clinical symptoms, and blood samples were collected for dengue rapid diagnostic test (RDTs), molecular detection of dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and malaria. Microscopic examination was also performed to diagnose malaria infection. Among 306 samples screened using DENV RT-PCR and Malaria microscopy detection, 5.22% (16/306) were DENV- Plasmodium coinfections. According to DENV screening using RT-PCR and malaria screening using PCR, 7.51% (23/306) were found to be coinfected with DENV and Plasmodium . In this study, 100% (23/23) of the coinfection samples were malaria-positive by PCR, whereas 69.56% (16/23) were positive by microscopy. CHIKV has not been detected in this study. Among coinfections, 74.0% (17/23) were coinfections between DENV-3 and P. falciparum , 13.0% (3/23) between DENV-3 and P. malariae , 8.7% (2/23) between DENV-1 and P. falciparum , and 4.3% (1/23) between DENV-1 and P. malariae. Our study demonstrated the utility of molecular tools in detecting dengue and malaria coinfection in the acute phase. It also showed the co-circulation between DENV-1, DENV-3, P. falciparum, and P. malariae.