| Dengue fever, also known as break bone fever, is an infectious tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. The term dengue fever came into general use only after 1828. The word dengue is Spanish for affectation, careful, or fastidious. Dengue symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pains, and a characteristic skin rash that is similar to measles. In a small proportion of cases the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), resulting in bleeding, low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage, or into dengue shock syndrome, where dangerously low blood pressure occurs. Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different but related types 1-4 (Den1-4), infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. There are up to 100 million cases of dengue fever worldwide every year, the most common occurrences are in urban parts of subtropical and tropical areas, such as Central and South America, parts of Africa, parts of Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Dengue fever virus (DENV) is an RNA virus of the family Flaviviridae. Other members of the same genus include yellow fever virus, West Nile virus, St. Louis encephalitis virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, tick-borne encephalitis virus, Kyasanur forest disease virus, and Omsk hemorrhagic fever virus. Most are transmitted by arthropods (mosquitoes or ticks), and are therefore also referred to as arboviruses (arthropod-borne viruses). The dengue virus genome code for the three different types of structural proteins (C, prM and E) that form the virus particle and seven other types of non-structural proteins (NS1, NS2a, NS2b, NS3, NS4a, NS4b, NS5) that are only found in infected host cells and are required for replication of the virus. Dengue lab tests include cell culture, PCR, and antibody detection by ELISA. As there is no approved Dengue vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites. Applications: Suitable for use in Western Blot and ELISA. Other applications have not been tested. Recommended Dilutions: Western Blot: 0.5ug/ml ELISA: 1:10,000-1:50,000 using 50-100ng of control peptide/well Optimal dilutions to be determined by the researcher. Storage and Stability: May be stored at 4C for short-term only. Aliquot to avoid repeated freezing and thawing. Store at -20C. Aliquots are stable for 12 months after receipt. For maximum recovery of product, centrifuge the original vial after thawing and prior to removing the cap. |
