Chikungunya virus may not show up in Igm serology test used by hospitals for detection

Ganga Ram Hospital said that it has recently found that the Chikungunya virus has a tendency not to show itself in the test.

Written By: Agencies | Updated : September 14, 2016 10:45 AM IST

The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here said it had recently found that the Chikungunya virus has a tendency not to show itself in the Chikungunya Igm serology test while it shows up during the RT-PCR test only, which the Hospital has been using it for the suspected samples. Currently, many of the hospitals in Delhi have been performing the Igm serology test, which is probably the reason why a lot of hospitals have not been able to confirm the presence of Chikungunya. This particular virus of Chikungunya has a tendency not to show itself in Chikungunya in the Igm serology test. Infact, in the last 10 days we applied Chikungunya Igm serology test in 385 samples and none of them were positive where as when we applied RT-PCR in 524 samples, a total of 293 samples came positive, said Chand Wattal, Chairman of the Microbiology department at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The RT-PCR test is being used by a very few hospitals currently in the national capital. Ganga Ram Hospital has reported four deaths in last 24 hours due to various complications triggered due to Chikungunya. Delhi has witnessed a total of five deaths caused by the disease so far. (Read: Chikungunya test and diagnosis everything you need to know)

However, it is always believed that prevention is better than cure, you may take these measures to keep yourself away from this disease:

Since infected mosquitoes, bite during the day, it is advisable to use a mosquito repellent cream while stepping out, especially in endemic areas.
Use repellants within the house and use them as per the recommendations on the packaging.
Keep all water reservoirs like buckets, small tubs, mugs etc. covered at all times. It is essential to empty out all the containers regularly and wash them well.
Declutter your home and air our all the rooms once a day. Remember to close all your windows and doors by mid morning.
If you have too many mosquitos in your area, ask your area municipal corporation to get the area sprayed to rid it of mosquitoes.

(Read: Ganga Ram Hospital witnesses three more chikungunya deaths)

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Source: IANS

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