Dengue encephalitis: A rare manifestation of dengue fever.

Dengue fever, which is caused by the dengue virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, usually manifests as flu-like symptoms and is a prevalent tropical illness. However, there are rare cases where the infection takes an unusual course, resulting in severe complications like dengue encephalitis. This case report delineates an occurrence of dengue encephalitis in a patient from Sri Lanka.

Laboratory response to an infant with suspected measles vaccine associated fever and rash in Sri Lanka.

Background: Measles is a highly contagious illness. Sri Lanka (SL) has eliminated the measles in 2019. The country is at risk of importation of measles and there could be vaccine-associated measles like illnesses.

The first laboratory-confirmed neonatal Mpox infection in Sri Lanka.

In 2022-2023, a global outbreak of Mpox was reported especially in nonendemic countries. We report the first laboratory-confirmed neonatal case of Mpox infection complicated by bronchopneumonia in Sri Lanka.

Dengue Virus and Yellow Fever Virus Detection Using Reverse Transcription-Insulated Isothermal PCR and Comparison with Real-Time RT-PCR.

Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) is the most accurate method for the detection of dengue virus (DENV) and yellow fever virus (YFV) in acute illness. However, performing rRT-PCR is not feasible for many laboratories in regions of endemicity. The current study compared new reverse transcription-insulated isothermal PCRs (the POCKIT DENV and YFV reagent sets) with laboratory-developed rRT-PCRs for both viruses using clinical samples and viral strains from different endemic regions.

The laboratory investigation of a measles outbreak in the eve of its elimination in Sri Lanka.

Background: Measles is highly contagious and cause significant morbidity and mortality. Sri-Lanka has the goal to eliminate endogenous measles by 2020 in par with WHO.

Objective: To describe laboratory confirmation and genotype distribution of measles cases during the outbreak occurred from mid-March to May 2019, Sri-Lanka STUDY DESIGN: This retrospective study was conducted at National Measles Reference Laboratory (NMRL), Sri-Lanka.

Rotavirus infection among hospitalized children under five years of age with acute watery diarrhea in Sri Lanka.

Background: Rotavirus is the leading cause of acute watery diarrhoea among children and is vaccine preventable. The aim of this hospital-based sentinel surveillance was to study the prevalence, demographic and clinical characteristics of rotavirus infections and to describe rotavirus genotype distribution patterns among children under five years of age hospitalized for acute watery diarrhea during the period of 2009-2016.

Methods: Prospective, sentinel hospital-based surveillance was conducted in Lady Ridgeway Hospital (LRH) from 2009 to 2016.

Characterization of Dengue Virus Infections Among Febrile Children Clinically Diagnosed With a Non-Dengue Illness, Managua, Nicaragua.

Background: We sought to characterize dengue virus (DENV) infections among febrile children enrolled in a pediatric cohort study who were clinically diagnosed with a non-dengue illness ("C cases").

Methods: DENV infections were detected and viral load quantitated by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in C cases presenting between January 2007 and January 2013.

Results: One hundred forty-one of 2892 C cases (4.

Diagnosis of Zika virus infection on a nanotechnology platform.

We developed a multiplexed assay on a plasmonic-gold platform for measuring IgG and IgA antibodies and IgG avidity against both Zika virus (ZIKV) and dengue virus (DENV) infections. In contrast to IgM cross-reactivity, IgG and IgA antibodies against ZIKV nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) antigen were specific to ZIKV infection, and IgG avidity revealed recent ZIKV infection and past DENV-2 infection in patients in dengue-endemic regions. This assay could enable specific diagnosis of ZIKV infection over other flaviviral infections.

Clinical evaluation of a single-reaction real-time RT-PCR for pan-dengue and chikungunya virus detection.

Background: Dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) now co-circulate throughout tropical regions of the world, with billions of people living at risk of infection. The differentiation of these infections is important for epidemiologic surveillance as well as clinical care, though widely-used molecular diagnostics for DENV and CHIKV require the performance of two to four separate PCR reactions for detection.

Objectives: In the current study, we sought to develop and evaluate a single-reaction, multiplex real-time RT-PCR (rRT-PCR) for the detection and differentiation of DENV and CHIKV (the pan-DENV-CHIKV rRT-PCR).

Homotypic Dengue Virus Reinfections in Nicaraguan Children.

Background: Infection with any of the 4 related dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1-4) is thought to result in lifelong immunity to homotypic reinfection (ie, reinfection with the same serotype).

Methods: Archived serum samples collected as part of an ongoing pediatric dengue cohort study in Nicaragua were tested for DENV by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Samples were collected from 2892 children who presented with an acute febrile illness clinically attributed to a non-DENV cause (hereafter, "C cases").

Sensitive real-time PCR detection of pathogenic Leptospira spp. and a comparison of nucleic acid amplification methods for the diagnosis of leptospirosis.

Background: Bacteria of the genus Leptospira, the causative agents of leptospirosis, are categorized into pathogenic and non-pathogenic species. However, the benefit of using a clinical diagnostic that is specific for pathogenic species remains unclear. In this study, we present the development of a real-time PCR (rtPCR) for the detection of pathogenic Leptospira (the pathogenic rtPCR), and we perform a comparison of the pathogenic rtPCR with a published assay that detects all Leptospira species [the undifferentiated febrile illness (UFI) assay] and a reference 16S Leptospira rtPCR, which was originally designed to detect pathogenic species.

Commutability of the Epstein-Barr virus WHO international standard across two quantitative PCR methods.

The commutability of international reference standards is critical for ensuring quantitative agreement across different viral load assays. Here, we demonstrate the commutability of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) WHO international standard for the BamHI-W and artus EBV assays.

Multiplex nucleic acid amplification test for diagnosis of dengue fever, malaria, and leptospirosis.

Dengue, leptospirosis, and malaria are among the most common etiologies of systemic undifferentiated febrile illness (UFI) among travelers to the developing world, and these pathogens all have the potential to cause life-threatening illness in returned travelers. The current study describes the development of an internally controlled multiplex nucleic acid amplification test for the detection of dengue virus (DENV) and Leptospira and Plasmodium species, with a specific callout for Plasmodium falciparum (referred to as the UFI assay). During analytical evaluation, the UFI assay displayed a wide dynamic range and a sensitive limit of detection for each target, including all four DENV serotypes.

Comparison of the FDA-approved CDC DENV-1-4 real-time reverse transcription-PCR with a laboratory-developed assay for dengue virus detection and serotyping.

Dengue virus (DENV) is the agent of the most common vector-borne disease worldwide. Using 199 clinical samples collected from Nicaragua and Sri Lanka, a laboratory-developed DENV multiplex real-time reverse transcription-PCR (rRT-PCR) proved more clinically sensitive than the FDA-approved CDC assay for DENV serotypes 1 to 4 when measured against a composite reference standard, with sensitivities of 97.4% versus 87.

Single-reaction, multiplex, real-time rt-PCR for the detection, quantitation, and serotyping of dengue viruses.

Background: Dengue fever results from infection with one or more of four different serotypes of dengue virus (DENV). Despite the widespread nature of this infection, available molecular diagnostics have significant limitations. The aim of this study was to develop a multiplex, real-time, reverse transcriptase-PCR (rRT-PCR) for the detection, quantitation, and serotyping of dengue viruses in a single reaction.

Development of an internally controlled real-time reverse transcriptase PCR assay for pan-dengue virus detection and comparison of four molecular dengue virus detection assays.

A number of diagnostic tests are available for dengue virus (DENV) detection, including a variety of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs). However, reports describing a direct comparison of different NAATs have been limited. In this study, we report the design of an internally controlled real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR) that detects all four DENV serotypes but does not distinguish between them (the pan-DENV assay).