Dengue rapid diagnostic tests: Health professionals’ practices and challenges in Burkina Faso:

Objectives:Dengue fever remains unrecognized and under-reported in Africa due to several factors, including health professionals’ lack of awareness, important prevalence of other febrile illnesses, most of which are treated presumptively as malaria, and the absence of surveillance systems. In Burkina Faso, health centers have no diagnostic tools to identify and manage dengue, which remains ignored, despite the evidence of seasonal outbreaks in recent years. A qualitative study was conducted to analyze the use of rapid diagnostic tests in six health and social promotion centers (i.e. health-care centers, from the French Centers de Sante et de Promotion Sociale) of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) in an exploratory research context.Methods:Dengue rapid diagnostic tests were introduced into fever-related consultations from December 2013 to January 2014. In-depth individual interviews were conducted in May and June 2014 with 32 health professionals.Results:Prior to the introduction of the tests, dengue was not well...