UP scientists develop test for early diagnosis of dengue
08/29/2011
GMA News
Scientists from the University of the Philippines in Manila may well be on their way to developing a method to diagnose dengue fever in just one hour, and potentially save lives in the process.
Early diagnosis will also help decongest hospitals of patients proven to be free of the virus.
The UP scientists developed a mixture, dubbed the Biotek-M Dengue Kit, that can detect the dengue virus in nucleic acid extracted from a patient's blood. The resulting fluid will turn either of two colors: a green-colored mixture indicates the presence of the virus, while an orange color shows its absence.
In an interview with GMA News TV's "News to Go," Dr. Raul Destura, director of the UP Manila Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, said the results from the test can be produced within just an hour, a much quicker diagnosis compared with the current ones in use which take 5 to 7 days.
Additionally, Destura said their dengue kit has a higher sensitivity rate of 95 percent, which means it is more accurate in detecting the virus than currently available tests which have sensitivities of only 30 to 70 percent.
He said the kit should be widely available before the end of the year, after field testing and approval by government regulatory authorities.
Early detection
Early and accurate detection of the virus is crucial, especially since the more advanced stages of dengue can claim patients' lives overnight, Destura stressed.
"Sa 30 to 70 percent sensitivity, maaaring hindi mo sya (virus) ma-pick-up. There is a missed [percentage] na puwedeng meron kang dengue na hindi nagpopositive dun sa test," he stressed.
Just this month, there have been several cases of children perishing due to dengue because they were rushed to the hospital only after several days of high fever.
Doctors have advised that patients be brought to the hospital at the early onset of fever so the virus could be detected and treated early on.
"Meron namang very sensitive na test [na available], 95 percent of the time kuha na kaagad yung diganosis. Ang problem lang, napakamahal at P5000 to P8000 per test, iyon 'yung tinatawag na PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology," he added.
At present, tests carried out using the kit costs only P70 per use, but the number could change once the kit is commercialized for mass production, Destura clarified.
Quicker decision-making
Using the kit, Destura said early detection of dengue can help on three levels: so parents will promptly know when their feverish children have dengue; so doctors can quickly rule out dengue as the cause of a patient's condition; and so hospitals can improve healthcare services by no longer admitting patients suspected of contracting the dengue virus.
Current tests aren't very useful, according to Destura, because even if the results turn out to be negative, there are instances when doctors suspect that a patient has dengue, so they are still confined in hospitals.
"Dahil sa worry, sa maraming kaso sa bansa natin, ang knee-jerk reaction [ng doktor] ay i-admit na lang ang pasyente para sure," he said.
"Kung admit nang admit ang [decision] ng bawat doktor, the hospitals get clogged. Yung quality of care sa mga pasyente maaapektuhan kasi iisang doktor bente ang tinitingnan," he stressed.
Field testing
At present, Destura said they are still testing the kits in the field, but should become commercially available within the next several months.
"Pag na-prove namin na na-maintain iyong kanyang power kapag [nasubukan] na sa actual scenario, then that's the time na hihingi tayo ng [Food and Drugs Administration] approval," he said.
After getting FDA approval, the technology will then be offered to an industrial partner (manufacturing or pharmaceutical company), which will then mass-produce the technology.
"Ang target namin is makakuha ng isang industrial partner para sila na ang mag-large-scale manufacturing, kasi hindi lang dito sa Pilipinas may dengue," he said, adding that this could also be the Philippines' contribution to curbing cases of dengue fever worldwide.
Test-dependent
While welcoming the upcoming availability of a new test for detecting dengue cases, a government epidemiologist told GMA News Online that such technologies also have their downsides, "so guidelines for use must be clear."
"It's not completely accurate, even at 95 percent. There is still that five percent," said the epidemiologist.
With tests such as this, he said doctors may become overly dependent on the technology and not examine certain patients anymore.
"They may just make feverish patients take the test. But dengue can co-exist with other diseases like typhoid," he stressed.
Destura has refused to disclose the composition of the kit to the media since it is still in the process of patent review, but stressed that it has already passed performance testing in their laboratories. - JM Tuazon, HS, GMA News
Early diagnosis will also help decongest hospitals of patients proven to be free of the virus.
The UP scientists developed a mixture, dubbed the Biotek-M Dengue Kit, that can detect the dengue virus in nucleic acid extracted from a patient's blood. The resulting fluid will turn either of two colors: a green-colored mixture indicates the presence of the virus, while an orange color shows its absence.
In an interview with GMA News TV's "News to Go," Dr. Raul Destura, director of the UP Manila Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, said the results from the test can be produced within just an hour, a much quicker diagnosis compared with the current ones in use which take 5 to 7 days.
Additionally, Destura said their dengue kit has a higher sensitivity rate of 95 percent, which means it is more accurate in detecting the virus than currently available tests which have sensitivities of only 30 to 70 percent.
He said the kit should be widely available before the end of the year, after field testing and approval by government regulatory authorities.
Early detection
Early and accurate detection of the virus is crucial, especially since the more advanced stages of dengue can claim patients' lives overnight, Destura stressed.
"Sa 30 to 70 percent sensitivity, maaaring hindi mo sya (virus) ma-pick-up. There is a missed [percentage] na puwedeng meron kang dengue na hindi nagpopositive dun sa test," he stressed.
Just this month, there have been several cases of children perishing due to dengue because they were rushed to the hospital only after several days of high fever.
Doctors have advised that patients be brought to the hospital at the early onset of fever so the virus could be detected and treated early on.
"Meron namang very sensitive na test [na available], 95 percent of the time kuha na kaagad yung diganosis. Ang problem lang, napakamahal at P5000 to P8000 per test, iyon 'yung tinatawag na PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology," he added.
At present, tests carried out using the kit costs only P70 per use, but the number could change once the kit is commercialized for mass production, Destura clarified.
Quicker decision-making
Using the kit, Destura said early detection of dengue can help on three levels: so parents will promptly know when their feverish children have dengue; so doctors can quickly rule out dengue as the cause of a patient's condition; and so hospitals can improve healthcare services by no longer admitting patients suspected of contracting the dengue virus.
Current tests aren't very useful, according to Destura, because even if the results turn out to be negative, there are instances when doctors suspect that a patient has dengue, so they are still confined in hospitals.
"Dahil sa worry, sa maraming kaso sa bansa natin, ang knee-jerk reaction [ng doktor] ay i-admit na lang ang pasyente para sure," he said.
"Kung admit nang admit ang [decision] ng bawat doktor, the hospitals get clogged. Yung quality of care sa mga pasyente maaapektuhan kasi iisang doktor bente ang tinitingnan," he stressed.
Field testing
At present, Destura said they are still testing the kits in the field, but should become commercially available within the next several months.
"Pag na-prove namin na na-maintain iyong kanyang power kapag [nasubukan] na sa actual scenario, then that's the time na hihingi tayo ng [Food and Drugs Administration] approval," he said.
After getting FDA approval, the technology will then be offered to an industrial partner (manufacturing or pharmaceutical company), which will then mass-produce the technology.
"Ang target namin is makakuha ng isang industrial partner para sila na ang mag-large-scale manufacturing, kasi hindi lang dito sa Pilipinas may dengue," he said, adding that this could also be the Philippines' contribution to curbing cases of dengue fever worldwide.
Test-dependent
While welcoming the upcoming availability of a new test for detecting dengue cases, a government epidemiologist told GMA News Online that such technologies also have their downsides, "so guidelines for use must be clear."
"It's not completely accurate, even at 95 percent. There is still that five percent," said the epidemiologist.
With tests such as this, he said doctors may become overly dependent on the technology and not examine certain patients anymore.
"They may just make feverish patients take the test. But dengue can co-exist with other diseases like typhoid," he stressed.
Destura has refused to disclose the composition of the kit to the media since it is still in the process of patent review, but stressed that it has already passed performance testing in their laboratories. - JM Tuazon, HS, GMA News
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