Dengue Virus (Serotypes 1-4) Antiviral Services

Dengue virus is an enveloped single-stranded positive-sense RNA virus, which belongs to the family of Flaviviridae. Dengue virus has approximately 11,000 nucleotides in length that encodes three structural (C, Env, M) and seven non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5). There are four different serotypes of dengue virus (DENV 1-4) and the classification is based on structural antigens that induce type-specific antibodies at the time of infection. Dengue fever is an arthropod-borne disease caused by the dengue virus (DENV), mainly transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Dengue fever is the most popular mosquito-borne disease in the world. The dengue virus mainly spreads in tropical and subtropical regions, including Southeast Asia, the Americas, Africa, the Western Pacific, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dengue virus research should be conducted using biosafety level 2 practices, equipment, and facility design. Laboratory diagnostic methods to confirm dengue virus infection may involve detection of virus, viral nucleic acid, antigen or antibody, or a combination of these techniques. The virus can be detected in serum, plasma, circulating blood cells, and other tissues for 4-5 days after onset. In the early stages of the disease, viral isolation, nucleic acid or antigen testing can be used to diagnose infection. At the end of the acute phase of infection, serology is the method of choice for diagnosis. Serological tests for dengue virus generally use IgM antibody-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MAC-ELISA), IgG ELISA, IgM capture and IgG capture ELISAs, anti-dengue virus IgA capture ELISA, and haemagglutination-inhibition (HI) test.