Elisa reliable for dengue diagnosis, says CMO

Nitish Sharma

Tribune News Service

Ambala, September 22

With fear of dengue outbreak in the district rising, results of ‘non-reliable’ rapid card tests are triggering panic among suspected cases.

Recently, four suspected cases of dengue were reported from Ambala Cantonment. Three of these cases tested positive in private labs and hospitals. However, when the matter came to the notice of the health authorities, the Elisa test was conducted on them and only one was found suffering from dengue.

Chief Medical Officer Vinod Gupta says: “A majority of private hospitals and pathological labs are performing the rapid card test to detect dengue, but its results are unreliable and could lead to inaccurate treatment. We have been requesting private health care and diagnostic facilities not to confirm a suspected dengue case on the basis of the rapid card test. The Elisa test is conducted free of cost at the Civil Hospital and they should send samples to the hospital for confirmation. Besides, they have been told not to charge more than Rs 600 for the Elisa test.”

“As per the guidelines of the National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme, the NS1 Elisa test is reliable for dengue confirmation,” he said.

According to the Health Department, 19 dengue cases had been reported so far. Last year, 582 persons tested positive for dengue while 552 cases were reported in 2015.