DEVELOPMENT OF AN IMMUNOASSAY FOR THE SEROLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS OF DENGUE VIRUS INFECTION

CINTIA M. SANCHEZ; FERNANDO MERWAISS; DIEGO E. ALVAREZ; JUAN E. UGALDE

Mar del Plata

Congreso; 51 Annual Meeting Argentine Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; 2015

Sociedad Argentina de Investigación en Bioquímica y Biología Molecular

Dengue is a mosquito borne viral infection that causes a febrile illness in infants, young children and adults. Nearly a hundred million new infections occur annually worldwide. Because four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes exist, humans can be exposed to DENV infections several times. While dengue fever is usually associated with a rather low mortality, development into a hemorrhagic fever may give rise to lethal complications and it has been shown that this is frequently due to secondary infections. There is no specific treatment for dengue, but early detection and access to medical care diminishes mortality below 1%. Confirmation of a case of dengue should be done either by direct virus detection during the acute phase or detection of specific antibodies. The immune response to DENV infection is mainly directed against the envelope protein, and the most widely used techniques for serological diagnosis are ELISAs that detect specific IgM and IgG antibodies against the virus particle. There is a need for diagnostic tests that can be used as point of care for clinical management and early detection of outbreaks. Our aim is to develop a DENV diagnostic assay suitable for use under minimal infrastructure. For this purpose we are developing a serological test based on the use of the structural domain III of the envelope protein as an antigen for the detection of specific IgM/G antibodies.