Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne disease and a significant global public health problem. Although a few serological surveys in the literature suggest endemic DF in many parts of Africa, DF cases in these countries are generally underreported because of the lack of diagnostic testing and systematic surveillance; thus, little is known about the phylogenetic profile of circulating strains. In April 2015, DF was diagnosed in a Japanese national returning from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Dengue virus 1 (DENV-1) RNA was detected in the patient's serum sample using real-time reverse transcription PCR. Phylogenetic analysis of the E gene revealed that the detected DENV-1 strain was classified as genotype V and was closely related, with 100% nucleotide identity, to the strain causing the 2013 DF epidemic in Angola, which is located directly south of the DRC. This is the first report to characterize the circulating DENV strain in the DRC, and the findings indicate that the DENV-1 strain causing the 2013 DF epidemic in Angola was also circulating in the DRC in 2015.
Keywords: DENV-1; dengue; genotype V; the DRC; traveler.