NS1 antigen test (nonstructural protein 1) is a test for dengue, introduced in 2006. It allows rapid detection on the first day of fever, before antibodies appear some 5 or more days later. It has been adopted for use in some 40 nations. The method of detection is through

enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay uses a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence ...

. India has introduced in 2010 the NS1 test costing 1,600 rupees at a private hospital in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Medical use

The medical use of the NS1 antigen test can be defined to diagnose dengue infections and is effective to 1st day detection. Additionally, NS1 assay is useful for differential diagnostics in regards to

flaviviruses ''Flavivirus'' is a genus of positive-strand RNA viruses in the family ''Flaviviridae''. The genus includes the West Nile virus, dengue virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, yellow fever virus, Zika virus and several other viruses which may cau ...

. NS1 is present in the serum of infected persons directly at the onset of clinical symptoms in primary dengue infection and produces a strong humoral response. It is detectable before the appearance of IgM antibodies. DENV by NS1 antigen is laboratory confirmation of dengue in people also assessing clinical aspects (as well as, taking into account where the individual may have traveled recently). Serological tests such as an immunoglobulin M antibody capture–enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MAC-ELISA) and viral RNA detection by reverse transcriptase (

RT-PCR Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is a laboratory technique combining reverse transcription of RNA into DNA (in this context called complementary DNA or cDNA) and amplification of specific DNA targets using polymerase cha ...

) can also be used to diagnose dengue fever.

Medical use

See also

References

Further reading