World Health Day 2014: Dengue fever diagnosis — factors, tests and cost

Here are 4 gold tests needed for early and accurate diagnosis of dengue.

By: Shraddha Rupavate | | Updated: October 23, 2015 3:45 pm

April 7 is World Health Day. The theme this year is ‘Vector-borne diseases – small bite, big threat’ and one of the most common vector-borne diseases is dengue fever. Also Read - Beware: Mosquito-borne diseases like Zika, Chikungunya may trigger stroke and more

The incidence of dengue has risen significantly in the past few decades. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 2.5 billion people in the world are now at risk of suffering from dengue. Also Read - Dengue cases rise in Delhi: Home remedies to deal with this disease

Dengue is a mosquito borne viral infection. In simple words, dengue is caused by dengue virus that gains entry into the human body via mosquito bites. Because dengue is a viral disease, there is no definitive drug that can treat it. But the complications of dengue can be prevented well with accurate diagnosis and early detection. Also Read - National Dengue Day: Know how to deal with this vector borne disease amidst the COVID-19 crisis

Here’s what our experts Dr Pradip Shah, consultant physician, and Dr Bela Sharma, senior consultant, internal medicine, FMRI, had to say about factors involved in diagnosis of dengue, and some commonly used diagnostics tests.

Factors involved in diagnosis of dengue:

Warning signs, duration of the symptoms and appropriate physical examination are main factors involved in dengue diagnosis. ‘Diagnosis of dengue is usually done based on patient’s symptoms and physical examination, especially in endemic areas. A probable diagnosis is made on the findings of fever with the following symptoms: nausea and vomiting, rash and generalized pain. Warning signs typically occur before the onset of severe dengue. Diagnosis should be considered in anyone who develops a fever within two weeks of being in the tropics or subtropical region,’ explains Dr Bela.

Common tests used in dengue diagnosis:

1. Complete Blood Count: Both the experts highlighted low platelet count as an important factor in dengue diagnosis. ‘A complete blood count (CBC) is of significant importance for clinical diagnosis of dengue. If a patient has high fever and is found to have a low platelet count, dengue is suspected’, says Dr Pradip. Normal platelet count in a healthy individual is about 2.5 lakh cells/cubic mm.

2. ELISA test for dengue NS1 Ag: Viruses have the tendency to attack platelets and destroy them, thereby lowering the platelet count. ‘But, a low platelet count does not always mean that you are suffering from dengue. Your platelet count can be lowered in any kind of viral infection. That the reason why we need more specific tests to confirm dengue. ELISA NS1 Antigen test is a specific test for detecting dengue virus antigen. But this test may show negative results in the early stages of the disease. So the test needs to be repeated on the 2^nd, 3^rdor 4^thday for confirmatory results,’ explainsDrPradip.

3. PCR for detecting viral DNA: ‘Detection of NS1 during the early phase of a primary infection may be greater than 90% but for subsequent infections it is only 60–80%. So, PCR and viral detection test is considered. This test is more reliable in the first 7 days of infection, when NS1 Ag test may be negative despite infection,’ says Dr Bela.

4. Serum IgG and IgM test: ‘Serum antibody tests are useful for confirming a diagnosis in the later stages of the infection,’ mentions Dr Bela. Once the virus gains entry into the body, the immune cells begin to produce antibodies IgG and IgM against the virus. The level of these antibodies increases gradually and remains high for a really long time. So it is also a useful indicator of a previous infection.

Costs involved:

Cost of diagnostic tests for vector borne diseases is quite cheap. But, confirmatory tests are usually a bit costly. ‘A complete dengue profile test (NS1 Ag test, IgG, IgM test etc) would require somewhere about 1000-1500 rupees,’ says Dr Pradip.

Read more about causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of dengue.

Also read more articles about the common vector-borne diseases in India:

Dengue

Chikunguniya

Malaria

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Published : April 6, 2014 10:47 am | Updated:October 23, 2015 3:45 pm

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