Diagnostics is the power to fight infectious diseases

Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, and each year millions of people worldwide are affected by them. Many infectious diseases have minor complications if diagnosed and treated appropriately. But left untreated, others – including pneumonia, tuberculosis, HIV, and meningitis – can be life-threatening.

In spite of all the ground-breaking advancements in modern-day medicine, infectious diseases pose a much greater challenge today than they did even two decades ago. The evolution of new bacteria, viruses, and parasites such as SARS-CoV-2 along with growing menace of antimicrobial resistance are some of the major contributing factors for this mounting threat.

Early and accurate diagnosis of infectious disease in present day has become critically important not only because in-vitro diagnostic tests make it possible to identify the infectious agent, which improves the effectiveness of therapeutics enhancing outcomes, but also provides valuable information through susceptibility testing to prescribe the most appropriate treatment and limiting the risk of antimicrobial resistance.

Clearly, diagnostics have a decisive impact on the continuum of care. Between 60 percent and 70 percent of medical decisions are based on in-vitro diagnostic test results. In-vitro diagnostic tests provide the basis of most medical decision-making, and yet they account for only 2 percent to 3 percent of healthcare spending worldwide. They play a decisive role in limiting healthcare costs, since the appropriate diagnostic test performed in a timely manner reduces the risk of trial-and-error treatment and shortens the time before treatment begins, and decreases the length of hospital stay. However, the medical, social, and economic benefits of in-vitro diagnostic tests are often overlooked, despite the fact that these tests improve patient care, contribute to consumer safety, and help to limit healthcare spending, which is a major economic challenge for all countries.

Dengue is one such infectious viral disease that has been rapidly spreading across the world in recent years. With 100 to 400 million people affected each year, it is the most common arthropod-borne viral infection worldwide. The global incidence of this infection has grown over eight-fold during the last 20 years, with the greatest burden observed in Asia (75 percent), followed by Latin America and Africa. In last two decades, dengue has become quite a hyper-endemic to India sub-continent.

Dengue often presents non-specifically and with fever, thereby leading to a high risk of misdiagnosis in the absence of laboratory confirmation, especially in countries where many other infectious diseases are circulating. Diagnostic testing for dengue relies on several laboratory methods, mainly manual, each having its own advantages and limitations. If molecular assays are not available, or the patient presents later during the course of the disease, serological methods are particularly well suited.

These serological tests include three types of tests NS1, IgM and IgG as recommended by international guidelines for accurate and early diagnosis. The appropriate use of these tests is essential for rapid and reliable confirmation or exclusion of dengue infection for optimized patient management and early response to severe disease.

At bioMérieux, being a global leader in the field of infectious disease diagnostics, the constant endeavor has always been to develop, produce, and market innovative in-vitro diagnostic tests, enabling the healthcare practitioners worldwide to diagnose infectious diseases rapidly and accurately, improving patient care. Recent launch of comprehensive dengue solution on its VIDAS® platform is another step in fulfilling that mission.

VIDAS® Dengue solution, comprising of three independent tests (VIDAS® DENGUE NS1 Ag, Anti-DENGUE IgM and Anti-DENGUE IgG) on VIDAS® family of instruments, is a comprehensive and fully automated assay to diagnose dengue infection.