Working in a Medical Lab: Dengue IgM/IgG and NS1

There are total 4 distinct serotypes of dengue virus (DV) namely, DV-1,-2,-3 and -4, which are mainly transmitted by the Aedes mosquitos.
NS1 (nonstructural protein 1) is a highly-conserved glycoprotein which present at high concentration in the serum during early stage of the disease infection.
NS1 antigen is detectable within the first to nine days following the onset of symptoms in the primary or secondary dengue infected patient.
IgM will only be determined after 5 to 6 days of the onset of illness for primary infection while 4 to 5 days after the illness onset for secondary infection.
IgG will only appear after 14 days in primary infection while for secondary infection, it rise within one or two days and will induce the release of IgM after 20 days of infection.

There are two types of test devices we are using in this lab to identify the dengue virus infection, Dengue NS1 and Dengue IgG/IgM.

The former is the solid phase immunochromatographic assay for the detection of dengue antigen (NS1) while the latter aids in the detection and differentiation of antibodies (IgG/IgM) against dengue virus.

Both use patient's serum/plasma or whole blood as testing sample.

Dengue NS1 test device.

Procedure: