Why dengue is more difficult to eliminate compared to malaria？
Dengue and malaria are both mosquito-borne diseases, but you will notice some different from some health statistic. In Malaysia, the incidence cases of dengue is very high, but malaria has achieved zero indigenous case. What makes dengue more challenging to eliminate compared to malaria? Here maybe some reasons.
Firstly, there are multiple dengue virus strains. Dengue fever is caused by four different strains of the dengue virus (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4). Each strain can cause the disease, and infection with one strain provides lifelong immunity only against that particular strain. However, subsequent infections with different strains can increase the risk of severe dengue.
Secondly, there is little effective vaccines. While there are licensed vaccines available for some strains of dengue, their effectiveness can vary, and there is no single vaccine that provides protection against all four strains. This adds complexity to vaccination strategies and limits the impact of vaccines on dengue control efforts.
Lastly, the diagnostic challenges. Dengue fever often includes asymptomatic or mild cases that can go unnoticed or be mistaken for other febrile illnesses. This makes it challenging to detect and respond to outbreaks promptly, as compared to malaria, where symptomatic cases are more prevalent.
In order to make dengue diagnose more easier, Wizbiotech has develop related dengue rapid test, such as NS1 antigen test as well as IgM antibody test.
