MEDIA BRIEFING FORM - UPM Special RESEARCH FORUM Date: August 28, 2012 l Venue: NIH Centennial Conference room.

 

NIH MONTHLY RESEARCH FORUM

Date: Aug 28,2012 l Venue: NIH

MEDIA BRIEFING FORM

 

Hosted by: Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology

Speaker: Drs. Raul V. Destura and Regina P. Berba.

 

Title of the Presentation:

CHANGING EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DENGUE INFECTIONS and DENGUE DIAGNOSTICS

1. What is the main purpose of the study?

A new locally developed test called the Biotek M Dengue Assay was developed. This study looked at the clinical utility of this new test.

2. What were the findings?

The following are the main findings:

a) Among patients consulting the hospital for acute fever, 59% were due to dengue. This was based on 69 out of 117 samples which tested positive by Dengue RT PCR giving a prevalence rate of 59.0% (95% CI 49.5%, 67.9%).

b) The dengue serotypes identified were predominantly DENV1 and DENV3.

c) The overall sensitivity of Biotek M of the blood samples taken from Days 1-7 was 0.753 (95% CI 0.632, 0.846) and specificity of 0.750 (95%CI 0.601, 0.858). The likelihood ratio for a positive test was 3.014 (95%CI 1.813, 5.011).

d) The accuracy measures of the Biotek M Dengue test was noted to improve the earlier the period of testing was done. Thus, the sensitivity of Biotek M was noted to increase to 0.812 (95%CI 0.669, 0.906) if the test was done on Days 1-5; 0.800 (95%CI 0.625, 0.909) if the test was done on Days 1-4; and a high 0.923 (95%CI 0.621, 0.996) when the test was done on Days 1-3.

e) The Biotek M was able to detect dengue in 12 samples which were negative on Dengue RT-PCR, showing a greater yield most probably due to the lower threshold of gene detection that the LAMP is relative to the Dengue RT-PCR.

f) Comparison of patient characteristics between those whose blood samples were positive for the Dengue RT-PCR versus samples which were negative for both tests showed almost similar characteristics with little difference that may guide health professionals on dengue diagnosis; except for the presence of rash and WBC of 4000/dL or less

3. What is the significance of these findings in relation to the community’s state of well being?

The diagnosis of dengue based on clinical findings alone is unreliable. Early diagnosis of dengue with accurate and reliable laboratory test can help reduce morbidity and mortality of this infection

4. Are there recommendations coming out of this study that will benefit the public?

The Biotek M Dengue Assay has great potential to become the much-needed diagnostic test which can detect accurately the presence of dengue specially if done early in the course of the febrile illness. This test is useful even in field and primary health settings with limited laboratory capabilities.

 

Pictures during Forum