A draft search strategy was compiled in the OvidSP Medline ALL database by an experienced information specialist. The search strategy included strings of terms and synonyms to reflect the following concepts: (1) disease outbreaks, (2) dengue fever, and (3) selected countries in Africa. The search was limited to papers published in 2017 to the present. No other limits were added to the search. The search strategy was refined with the project team until the retrieved results reflected the scope of the project. The following databases were searched on 19 April 2023: Ovid Medline ALL (1946 to April 18, 2024); Ovid Embase Classic + Embase (1947 to 2024 April 18); Ovid Global Health (1910 to 2024 Week 15); EBSCOhost Africa-Wide Information (complete database); Clarivate Analytics Web of Science Core Content (data updated 2024-04-16). The draft search was adapted for each of the databases to incorporate database-specific syntax and controlled vocabularies.

Disease Outbreak, Dengue fever, Africa, Medline, Embase, Global Health, Africa-wide information, Web of Science Core Collection