Vector-Borne Disease
Vector-borne diseases are among the most critical global public health problems. They are associated with severe human morbidity and mortality, leading to a significant economic burden in affected countries. Vector-borne diseases are caused by viruses, parasites, and bacteria transmitted by vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and fleas that spread pathogens.
Vector-borne is the major cause of more than 17% of all infectious diseases worldwide. More than 700,000 deaths per annum worldwide from malaria, dengue, Scrub typhus, Schistosomiasis, Human African trypanosomiasis, Leishmaniosis, Chagas disease, Yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and Onchocerciasis.
The control of transmission vectors (primarily insects) is the only time-proven methodology of disease prevention. Increasing public awareness and providing relevant education go a long way to reduce the incidence of vector-borne diseases in endemic geographies.
The “Global Vector Control Response (GVCR) 2017–2030” was approved by the World Health Assembly in 2017. It provides strategic guidance to countries and development partners to strengthen vector control as a principal approach to stop the disease and responding to outbreaks.
The precise diagnosis of many of these diseases remains a significant challenge because of accurate and reliable diagnostic methods. Malaria and dengue are public Health concerns in tropical nations, and their control remains at the top of the agenda for most administrations.
The Gold standard for malaria remains microscopy; however, WHO has recommended using Rapid tests based on Antigen detection (having good sensitivity and specificity) for Malaria diagnosis at tertiary care centers.
Dengue diagnosis remains a challenge with four different serotypes and varying levels of infection in other areas. However, an early diagnosis correlates to clinical symptoms to effective patient management and good clinical outcome.
There are various in-vitro diagnostic test kits based on multiple technologies. However, WHO recommends the use of Dengue NS1 Antigen testing for early and effective diagnosis.
Dengue, Chikungunya, Malaria , Filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, Leishmaniasis & Scrub typhus are major vector-borne diseases that are a significant threat to India and other nations located in the tropics. Accuracy and speed of diagnosis coupled with efficient public policy implementation will go a long way in controlling vector-borne disease incidence in the future.
J Mitra & Co. offers a wide range of diagnostic kits, both Rapid tests & ELISA, to diagnose vector-borne diseases; Dengue, Malaria , Chikungunya & Scrub typhus. Dengue DAY 1 Test can detect infection from Day 1 of fever. Malaria Rapid Card tests are based on HRP-2 & pLDH antigen detection for P.falciparum and have good performance as per WHO evaluation. All J. Customers widely accept J.Mitra Rapid and ELISA tests for mentioned VBDs due to their user-friendly test procedure, reliable and accurate test results.
The nucleocapsid protein (N ) present in virus genome helps the virus to bind to target cells through the host cell receptor and membrane fusion . The N-protein is the most abundant protein in the virus and it is the one that our immune system usually detects. The N-protein rarely changes along the disease progression and, for these reasons is often used as a marker in diagnostic assays.
The viral nucleic acid-based test using quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) is the first line screening method of choice for SARS-CoV-2 detection being regarded as the “gold standard” test due to its high sensitivity, rapid detection, and other desirable characteristics. However in case of a higher sample load , Antigen detection using ELISA tests are the preferred choice for timely reporting of the patient results as this will be helpful in ; Reducing transmission rate & Faster Contact Tracing.
The above mentioned points highlight the importance of early adoption of Antigen testing within the ICMR protocol for diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 virus. Apart from being a highly sensitive and selective analytical tool for diagnosis, the Antigen test is an essential component in fighting the pandemic.