Medical Faculty Of University Of Indonesia Launches Early Diagnostic Tool For DBD

JAKARTA - The Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (FK UI) launched an early and rapid diagnostic test tool for dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), namely the NS-1 protein rapid diagnostic test (RDT).

"This tool or kit is a collaboration between universities and industry," said the head of the research team, Beti Ernawati Dewi, as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, September 6.

The rapid test kit is the result of research with personnel from across UI study programs, namely Beti Ernawati Dewi, Leonard Nainggolan, Fithriyah, Andriansjah Rukmana, Evy Suryani, and Hidayati Desti.

She said dengue cases continued to increase and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, dengue cases reached 100,000 cases.

According to her, that number is a confirmed case.

So far, she continued, infections caused by mosquito bites are often too late to be recognized because the clinical symptoms are not specific. Management of dengue virus infection at the beginning of infection before entering the critical phase will reduce the risk of patient death.

"Early detection can identify the presence of the dengue virus so that fogging can be carried out immediately to break the chain of dengue virus spread," she said.

The kit can detect the presence of infection in the early stages, is sensitive because it can detect all existing serotypes, is easy, fast, and affordable.

She explained that the development of the kit was quite difficult because it had to be able to capture the four serotypes circulating in Indonesia, namely serotype-1 (DEN-1), DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4.

The Dean of FK UI Prof Ari F. Syam, said the diagnostic kit was important to detect the presence of the dengue virus in the body. Before the pandemic, what health workers thought about when a patient had a high fever was typhus or DHF.

"At the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, what health workers thought was COVID-19, once a high fever was thought to be COVID-19. The problem is that there is a high fever that is mistaken for COVID-19. Therefore, it is necessary to have the right diagnostic tool,” said Ari.

Deputy Minister of Health Dante Saksono Harbuwono said dengue infection is still a threat in the country because of the wide manifestations of dengue and fever that are difficult to distinguish.

There are five stages related to handling the fever, starting from mosquito vector management, access and management, surveillance, government commitment, and research and innovation.

His party hopes that the diagnostic kit can suppress diagnosing the presence of dengue at an early stage so as to prevent the severity of the virus.