How to choose the right dengue testing product for you?

Purpose of testing
Clinical diagnosis: If the test is used for individual diagnosis, especially when Dengue Fever is suspected at the early stage of the disease, products that can rapidly detect viral antigen or nucleic acid can be chosen, such as colloidal gold assay for Dengue Virus NS1 antigen, which can be detected about 1-7 days after the onset of the disease, and can help in early diagnosis. For patients who have had the disease for some time and need to determine whether it is a secondary infection, they can choose kits that detect IgG and IgM antibodies, such as the Enzyme-linked Immunoassay for Dengue IgG/IgM Antibody, to assist in the diagnosis of the disease.
Epidemic surveillance and epidemiological investigation: large-scale epidemic surveillance and epidemiological investigation usually require the detection of a large number of samples, in this case, we should choose the products with simple operation, low cost and high detection efficiency, such as colloidal gold dengue antibody test strips, which is suitable for rapid primary screening of group serum.
Detection performance
Sensitivity and specificity: high sensitivity products can more accurately detect low concentrations of viral markers and reduce missed diagnosis; high specificity can reduce the false-positive rate and avoid misdiagnosis. Generally speaking, molecular biology assays such as real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR method have high sensitivity and specificity, but products of different brands and batches may vary. When choosing a product, you can refer to the validation data and quality assessment report of the product, and give preference to the product that has been certified by authoritative organizations and has higher sensitivity and specificity.
Accuracy: The accuracy of the product is directly related to the reliability of the test results. In addition to sensitivity and specificity, the stability and repeatability of the product should also be considered. Some well-known brands of testing products, due to the production process and quality control is more stringent, its accuracy is relatively more guaranteed.

Usage Scenario
Laboratory testing: If it is used in a professional laboratory environment, with professional equipment and technicians, you can choose methods that require complex operational procedures but high detection accuracy, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and other detection reagents, these methods can provide more accurate, quantitative results, but usually require a longer testing time and professional operational skills.
Rapid on-site testing: In some sites that do not have laboratory conditions, such as remote areas, primary health care institutions or outbreak prevention and control sites, where rapid results are needed to take timely preventive and control measures, rapid test strips or kits such as colloidal gold are more suitable, which are simple to operate, do not require special equipment, and can provide qualitative results in a relatively short period of time to facilitate the initial on-site judgement.
Types of samples
Common dengue test samples include serum, plasma and whole blood. Different test products have different requirements for sample types, e.g. some colloidal gold test strips are suitable for both serum, plasma and whole blood, while some ELISA kits may only be suitable for serum or plasma samples. When selecting a test product, it is important to determine the appropriate product based on the type of sample actually available to ensure a smooth test.
Cost Factors
Product price: The price of different types and brands of dengue testing products varies greatly, ranging from tens to hundreds of dollars. Under the premise of meeting the testing needs, you can choose the right product according to your own financial strength and budget. For large-scale testing or long-term monitoring projects, the cost-effectiveness of the products should also be considered.
The cost of ancillary equipment and consumables: In addition to the price of the test product itself, you also need to consider whether you need to support the instrumentation, reagents and consumables, as well as the cost of procurement, maintenance and service life of these equipment and consumables and other factors. For example, some products based on molecular biology detection methods may require specific equipment such as PCR instruments, while colloidal gold test strips do not require additional equipment, but only some simple sampling tools and pipettes and other basic consumables.
Brand and quality
Priority should be given to products of well-known brands with good reputation and quality assurance. These brands usually invest more in production process, quality control, technology development, etc., and the performance and stability of the products are more reliable and the after-sales service is more complete. You can refer to the evaluation of other users, recommendations of professional organizations and the market share of the product to evaluate the brand and product quality.