DAY 1 DIAGNOSIS OF DENGUE FEVER

BACKGROUND: Dengue is an RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes particularly Aedes aegypti. It is widely distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics and in a small proportion of cases the virus leads to life threatening complications dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. OBJECTIVES: To study the early diagnosis of Dengue on day 1 as there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment available. METHODS: A prospective study of 104 patients was done based on clinical criteria of Dengue. RESULTS: Out of 104 serum samples 46 (44%) were positive by NSI Ag MICROELISA, 37 (35%) by NSI antigen IMMUNO CHROMATOGRAPHY. 3 (2%) samples are positive by IgM IMMUNO CHROMATOGRAPHY and only one sample was positive for IgG IMMUNOCHROMATOGRAPHY. CONCLUSION: The present study has established the significance of NSI Ag MICROELISA with NSI antigen IMMUNO CHROMATOGRAPHY in increasing the diagnostic efficiency in the day 1 diagnosis of Dengue fever.