| Test: | Dengue Fever Virus Antibodies, IgG & IgM |
| Synonym: | Dengue fever virus serology |
| Method: | Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay |
| Availability: | Daily; Results in 4 to 14 days |
| Specimen: | Blood or CSF |
| Collection Device: | Clot (Red) or SST (Gold) tube (blood) Sterile, leak-proof container (CSF) |
| Volume: | 1 - 4 mL blood (0.5 - 2 mL of serum), > 1 mL CSF |
| Storage/Transport: | Separate serum from the cells ASAP. Transport and store serum refrigerated; if transport > 48 hours, freeze |
| Unacceptable: | Severly lipemic, icteric or hemolyzed samples; heat-activated serum; multiple freeze thaw cycles |
| Specimen Stability: | After separation of serum from cells: ambient, < 8 hours; refrigerated, up to 48 hours; frozen, 1 year |
| Reference Interval: | Refer to CDC report |
| Reportable Disease: | A positive serological result is reportable |
| Comments: | A CDC Data and Specimen Handling (DASH) form must be completed for submission of specimens to the CDC. Appropriately labeled acute and convalescent specimens, if available, should be sent together. The ideal times of collecting serum for serology are 3 - 10 days after onset of symptoms for acute and 2 - 3 weeks after acute sample for convalescent. Laboratory criteria for a confirmatory diagnosis are: i) isolation of dengue fever virus from or demonstration of specific arboviral antigen or genomic sequences in tissue, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or other body fluid by PCR test, immunofluorescence or immunochemistry, ii) seroconversion from negative for dengue virus-specific serum IgM antibody in an acute phase (≤ 5 days after symptom onset) specimen to positive for dengue-specific serum IgM antibodies in a convalescent-phase specimen collected ≥ 5 days after symptom onset, iii) demonstration of a ≥ 4-fold rise in reciprocal IgG antibody titer in paired acute and convalescent sera, or iv) virus-specific IgM antibodies demonstrated in CSF. |
| Revised: | 2/2/2012 |