Dengue NS1 antigen for early diagnosis of dengue fever

Dengue hemorrhagic fever is an infectious disease caused by Dengue virus, the disease can appear epidemic and if not detected, not treated promptly can leave a number of serious complications. disease can be fatal. Currently, the diagnostic method using NS1 Ag test is considered to be a new step in the early detection of Dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Dengue fever is a pathological manifestation with many pathogens causing it, including agents such as Marburg virus, Ebola virus, Bolivian hemorrhagic fever, Crimean hemorrhagic fever, Dengue hemorrhagic fever, etc. In tropical and subtropical countries, including Vietnam, dengue fever is an infectious disease transmitted by a mosquito-mediated host, frequently appearing in epidemics in the months from May to September in Vietnam. five. Dengue virus has 4 common disease-causing serotypes, DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4, these 4 serotypes change to cause epidemics every year in Vietnam, because when infected, only antibodies are present. antibodies against the serotype that caused the disease, no antibodies against other types.
Patients diagnosed with Dengue hemorrhagic fever have signs and symptoms as early as in the first 3 days, which are relatively similar to symptoms caused by other common viruses, so it can be confused, difficult to diagnose if only based on clinical symptoms.

Dengue virus hemorrhagic fever mostly causes symptoms of fever and mild hemorrhage (hemorrhage under the skin and mucous membranes), however, in some cases, it can be severe, organ bleeding such as:
Gastrointestinal bleeding: Manifestations are vomiting blood, passing black stools... Brain hemorrhage: Headache, confusion... May have hypotension and shock due to decreased circulating volume. Because dengue is dangerous and can spread into a large epidemic, early detection helps to better monitor and prevent the epidemic. Dengue NS1 antigen test is a new step forward in the diagnosis of dengue fever right from the early days when the patient presents with fever and is suspected of having dengue fever.

To diagnose dengue fever not only based on clinical signs but also need to rely on subclinical signs such as:
Blood count test: In dengue fever, the blood count has changes in blood count. Platelet count (decreased) and red blood cell mass index (HCT) are often increased due to hemoconcentration. Rapid test for IgM antibodies: Is a test to find antibodies against Dengue virus. However, the two test methods mentioned above did not show any change from the first day of the disease when the patient had a fever, but it usually took from the 3rd day of testing to show any signs. In some cases, rapid testing for antibodies may give false positive results. The blood count test is mainly a measure of monitoring the progression of the disease, not a diagnostic criterion for dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Real-time PCR test technique: As a test for Dengue-RNA, it can detect Dengue virus infection early from the first day when fever has high sensitivity and specificity, in addition, this method It is also possible to identify the type of dengue virus that causes disease including DEN-1; DEN-2; DEN-3; DEN-4, however, the method requires implementation in large, modern medical facilities. Currently, the diagnosis of Dengue virus hemorrhagic fever by NS1 Ag test is a quick test method to find Dengue NS1 antigen in the patient's blood, if it is positive, it means the presence of Dengue virus in the body. Dengue NS1 antigen is detectable in the blood from day 1 to day 9 after the onset of fever.
The Dengue NS1 antigen test has the following advantages:
Detecting the disease very early from the first day the patient shows symptoms of fever to the 9th day after the fever. Because the antigen levels in the blood drop in the following days, antibody tests are preferred. For quick test results. Serum Dengue NS1 antigen test has a sensitivity of 92.4% and a specificity of 98.4%. Early detection of the disease allows patients to be monitored and controlled for dangerous complications, reducing the risk of death from dangerous complications.

However, most of the rapid tests can have a false positive phenomenon due to infection with some other virus strains, but this rate is very small, less than 2% and with this test method does not allow to determine the virus type cause disease.
During an outbreak of dengue fever, if symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, upper respiratory tract infection appear, a test for Dengue NS1 antigen should be performed early to help diagnose the disease early.
NS1 Ag test detects Dengue NS1 antigen in the patient's blood from the very first days, gives quick results and has high specificity sensitivity, so this is considered an important step forward in early detection Dengue fever is caused by the dengue virus. As soon as there are signs of suspicion of dengue fever, the patient should go to a medical facility for diagnosis, monitoring and handling of complications.

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