Molecular Serotyping of Dengue Viruses in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Western Odisha

Molecular serotyping of dengue viruses in a tertiary care hospital of western Odisha Introduction- Dengue is one of the most important mosquito- borne viral infections of public health concern. It belongs to the family flaviviridae and have five antigenically related serotypes designated as DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, DEN-4 and DEN-5. All the five serotypes can cause clinical manifestation ranging from mild self limiting dengue to dengue heamorragic fever (DHF) to dengue shock syndrome (DSS). Material and methods- A total of 355 samples are received from clinically suspected dengue patients during July 2021 to Dec 2021.All the 355 sample were subjected to dengue specific NS1 antigen detection by ELISA(Erbalisa Dengue NS1 Ag).31 seropositive sample on NS1 AG subjected for multiplex real time PCR employed for diagnosis to identify the different serotypes. Result- Of the 355 samples,31 were positive for NS1 antigen ELISA .7 samples were found to be infected with DEN-2 serotype, DEN-1 serotype was detected in 4 samples. All the RT- PCR positive samples were also positive for dengue NS1 antigen. The age of the dengue case was in the range between 15-50 years of age and male outnumbered the female patient. Discussion- Dengue infection presents with nonspecific fever that mimics other viral illness. The availability of commercial ELISA assays to detect the DENV NS1 protein in acute plasma provide an additional diagnostic tool to existing approaches of multiplex real-time RT- PCR. It is important to establish the diagnosis of acute dengue virus infection during the first few days after clinical manifestation. Conclusion ?The present study comprehensively established the utility of NS1, MULTIPLEX real-time PCR is rapid diagnostic test for dengue patients. DEN-2 was the predominant serotype in severe case. Continued surveillance of serotype should be carried out in endemic area.