A comparative retrospective study of RT-PCR-based liquid hybridization assay for early, definitive diagnosis of dengue

Evaluation of aminotransferase abnormality in dengue patients: A meta analysis

Dengue virus is a type of flavivirus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The symptoms of infection by this virus range from asymptomatic or mild symptomatic dengue fever (DF) to dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Significant abnormality in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) has been shown in a large number of dengue infection cases and to be indicator for liver injury provided that there are no other combined infections or liver injury. This study aims to assess the abnormal levels of liver aminotransferase in dengue patients. The related literature was searched in multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library. The literature was selected through strict inclusion and exclusion criteria, and the quantitative synthesis of the liver aminotransferase abnormality was performed with R software. The fixed or random effects model was employed based on the results of the statistical test for homogeneity. In total, 15 studies were included. The proportion of AST abnormality with 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.56-0.92) in DHF patients and 0.75 (95% CI: 0.63-0.84) in DF patients; the proportion of ALT abnormality was 0.54 (95% CI: 0.34-0.73) in DHF patients and 0.52 (95% CI: 0.41-0.63) in DF patients. Serum ALT and AST levels may be indicators for evaluating liver injury in dengue infection and for diagnosis and treatment effect.

A Sensitive and Selective Label-Free Electrochemical DNA Biosensor for the Detection of Specific Dengue Virus Serotype 3 Sequences

Dengue fever is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the world, with nearly 100 million people infected every year. Early diagnosis and identification of the pathogen are crucial steps for the treatment and for prevention of the disease, mainly in areas where the co-circulation of different serotypes is common, increasing the outcome of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Due to the lack of fast and inexpensive methods available for the identification of dengue serotypes, herein we report the development of an electrochemical DNA biosensor for the detection of sequences of dengue virus serotype 3 (DENV-3). DENV-3 probe was designed using bioinformatics software and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was used for electrochemical analysis. The results showed that a 22-m sequence was the best DNA probe for the identification of DENV-3. The optimum concentration of the DNA probe immobilized onto the electrode surface is 500 nM and a low detection limit of the system (3.09 nM). Moreover, this system allows selective detection of DENV-3 sequences in buffer and human serum solutions. Therefore, the application of DNA biosensors for diagnostics at the molecular level may contribute to future advances in the implementation of specific, effective and rapid detection methods for the diagnosis dengue viruses.