22 July, 2021
Dengue fever is one of the most common mosquito borne diseases in humans and is most prevalent in regions of Africa, the Americas, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific with new outbreaks occurring in European countries including France, Croatia and Portugal. The disease causes a flu-like illness which can occasionally develop into a more complicated disease known as severe dengue.
Dengue is transmitted to humans via bites from infected female mosquitoes and symptoms include; a high fever, severe headache, vomiting and swollen glands. It is estimated that in recent years the number of cases has grown rapidly and there are now approximately 100-400 million infections each year, with around half of the world’s population at risk.
As with many diseases, early diagnosis is key to minimizing the impact of dengue fever. The World Health Organisation notes that early detection of the disease and access to medical care can lower the fatality rate of severe dengue to less than 1%. However, the COVID-19 pandemic is placing immense pressure on healthcare services globally and this can potentially result in dengue, and other diseases not being detected early enough and vulnerable patients being placed at risk of not being diagnosed and appropriately treated. This is particularly in urban areas where communities are highly vulnerable and exposed to both dengue and COVID-19.
To detect the infection early on and minimize the impact on patient health, it’s important to use a reliable and trusted method. Fortress Diagnostics offer rapid diagnostic dengue fever devices for the quick and effective detection of the infection. The rapid device offers results in a fast turnaround time using a simple, straightforward method with whole blood/serum or plasma samples.
For more information on the Fortress Diagnostics dengue fever tests contact info@fortressdiagnostics.com
