How is dengue fever diagnosed?

Posted By Suborna Fermi Posted on Nov 07, 2022

The diagnosis of dengue fever through symptoms is a bit confusing, because dengue symptoms generally get confused with other health conditions, such as chikungunya, malaria, typhoid fever and Zika virus. However, if you are having high fever, severe muscle pain, and weakness then it is wiser to get tested for dengue fever.

As we know dengue fever cannot be diagnosed with only symptoms, you have to go for the laboratory tests to detect the dengue fever. But at first you need to know about all the diagnostic tests regarding dengue fever.

4 common tests to diagnose dengue fever:

• Dengue NS1 antigen test: The dengue NS1 antigen test is used to detect the dengue virus at very early stages of the infection. This test does not distinguish between the dengue serotypes. You should go for this test within the five days after the appearance of symptoms. This dengue test price is a lot cheaper than most of the dengue tests.
• Immunoglobulin M (IgM): This test is used to detect the presence of the immunoglobulin M antibodies in your blood. This test is also beneficial to differentiate between the primary and secondary dengue infection. You should go for this test, when you are experiencing the dengue symptoms from the past 5 to 10 days.
• Immunoglobulin G (IgG): Immunoglobulin G tests or IgG tests are used to detect the infection in later stages of the disease. To differentiate between the dengue serotypes, the ratio of IgM/IgG is generally used. However, this test is not used in case of acute infection.
• Dengue RNA PCR test: This is the main test to detect dengue fever at the early phase of the infection. The positive RNA PCR test not only helps in the confirmation of the infection, it also hel[ps in distinguishing the dengue serotypes. This test mainly looks for the genetic material of the virus.

So, those are all the commonly used tests which help in the diagnosing of dengue fever. However, most doctors usually suggest going for the complete blood count test along with the dengue test as well.