Ronald R. Matias, Ma. Giselle V. Espiritu, Corazon C. Buerano, Filipinas F. Natividad,
Akira Igarashi and Dengue Research Network
Institute of Biology, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman
Research and Biotechnology Division, St. Luke’s Medical Center
Dept. of Molecular Epidemiology, Institute for Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University
Dept of Virology, Institute for Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University
doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.1998.5846
Abstract
Dengue virus infection is a persistent health problem in the Philippines. Surveillance and diagnosis have been limited to recognizing the clinical symptoms. In this study, a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction ( RT -PCR) assay complemented with virus isolation was used to detect and isolate dengue virus from sera of patients admitted to different. medical institutions during the period 1995-1998. RT -PCR was done directly on serum samples. Additionally, serum samples were inoculated on Aedes albopictus cells and RT-PCR was done on infected culture fluid or on RNA extracted from infected cells. Dengue virus was detected and isolated in 95 out of 738 serum samples. Serotyping of the virus indicated the prevalence of Den 2 and Den 3.