Blood Biomarker POC Test Could Identify Patients at Risk of Severe Dengue

Dengue is typically a mild illness, yet approximately 15% of cases can progress to critical dengue, demanding intensive care and monitoring. Current early detection methods for severe dengue, such as PCR and ELISA tests conducted on blood samples, often fall short in sensitivity. Additionally, the World Health Organization's recommended symptom-based guidelines, which include fever, headache, eye pain, rash, and minor bleeding, have limited accuracy (6 to 18%) in detecting severe dengue due to symptom overlap with milder forms and other illnesses.

Scientists and clinicians at NTU Singapore (Singapore) have now identified two biomarkers — sST2 and suPAR — present in the blood of dengue patients that show promise in identifying those at risk of developing severe dengue during the disease's initial stages. This discovery emerged from a study between 2016 and 2019 involving 129 individuals treated for dengue. Given that lateral flow tests for sST2 and suPAR, proteins associated with heart health and disease, are commercially available for heart failure assessment, the team is exploring the possibility of combining these into a single test kit tailored for severe dengue detection.

Elevated levels of sST2 indicate cardiac stress and fibrosis, useful for gauging the severity of heart failure, while high suPAR levels are indicative of heightened inflammation and an increased risk of cardiac complications. By tracking these markers, researchers gain insights into cardiac conditions and disease progression. The team believes this novel approach could significantly improve accuracy in predicting severe dengue cases, with an estimated 55 to 60% accuracy rate, outperforming existing WHO guidelines. The development of these test kits could help healthcare professionals differentiate between mild dengue cases and severe ones requiring hospital admission.

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NTU Singapore