Rapid Dengue Testing

Dengue Fever is a vector borne disease caused by the Aedes mosquito carrying the Dengue virus and transmitting it to its human host. The total number of Dengue cases in Singapore at time of writing is 15,500 with a total of 334 active clusters. (1)

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The Dengue Virus

The dengue virus targets the immature cells of the immune system, the endothelial cells of blood vessels and the liver. – Dengue in the era of COVID

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There are 3 clinical manifestations of the disease.

The first being Dengue Fever, the most common presentation where patients suffer from flu-like symptoms, joint pain, rash and high spiking fever.

The next presentation is Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever where the virus disrupts the blood clotting mechanism within the body and patients suffer from persistent bleeding from minor trauma such as brushing teeth.

Lastly, Dengue Shock Syndrome is a potentially fatal form of the disease, where the patients’ blood pressure falls uncontrollably as the virus causes fluid to “leak” out of the blood vessels. People at risk of a more severe form of the disease are generally people with lower immunity and the people who have been previously infected with dengue. While there is no specific treatment for dengue, getting diagnosed early will allow prevention of complications from the infection.

Rapid Dengue Test

We currently have a single step rapid blood test that is able to detect Dengue at all stages of infection.

The SD Bioline Dengue DUO (NS1 Ag and IgG/IgM WB) test is a test that is designed to detect both the NS1 viral particles and IgM/ IgG antibodies in order to confirm the diagnosis of Dengue Fever.

How is the test conducted?

The test is conducted in the clinic, a small finger prick is made and blood is extracted using a small glass capillary tube.

The blood is then placed into the sample well of the test kit, a test buffer is added and the results take 15 – 20 minutes.

The rapid blood test kit has a specificity of 96 – 98% for detecting NS1 and IgM/ IgG.

Overall, early detection of Dengue in a patient is beneficial as it can prevent complications of the disease and reduce the chances of a more severe manifestation. The SD Bioline Dengue DUO (NS1 Ag and IgG/IgM WB) test is a rapid test that can accurately detect the presence of the virus regardless of the stage of illness and allows for timely intervention.

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