Social issues world Habitat Day

None of the rapid tests currently available is capable of differentiating the four dengue virus serotypes.

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  If the kit is used for diagnosing dengue cases, it would not cross react with any of the other Flaviviruses (Zika, Japanese encephalitis virus and West Nile virus).
  
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  The test was developed by using Monoclonal antibody produced in Mice against specific flavivirus nonstructural 1 (NS1) proteins produced by Zika and dengue viruses.
  

More About The Low-Cost Rapid Test

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  It resembles a pregnancy test strip.
  
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  It contains antibodies that react to the presence of Zika or dengue virus, and gold nano-particles that respond to the antibody reaction.
  
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  The test proved 80 per cent to 90 per cent accurate in detecting Zika and avoiding false positives.
  
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  The low-cost rapid test will also differentiate the four serotypes of dengue viruses.
  

Zika and Dengue

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  Zika and dengue both belong to the same viral family, which are called flaviviruses.
  
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  They are spread by the same mosquito (Aedes mosquito).
  
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  Infection by one serotype supposedly produces lifelong immunity only against that specific serotype; it does not protect against other serotypes. Infection for the second time by a different dengue serotype leads to increased infectivity and more severe clinical manifestations such as dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue-shock syndrome.
  
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  This kind of aggravation of the infection when infected for the second time by a different dengue virus serotype is called antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE).