Dengue Fever and Novel Detection Methods Based on Biosensors.

Dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral infection, poses a significant global health threat, and early diagnosis is crucial for effective disease management. Human infection typically occurs through infected Aedes mosquitoes, such as Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus. The disease spectrum ranges from asymptomatic infection and mild febrile illness (dengue fever) to more severe conditions, such as dengue hemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome. Dengue fever is characterized by severe headache, high fever, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, nausea, and vomiting. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is marked by high fever, an enlarged liver, hemorrhagic phenomena, shock, and often cardiovascular disorders. Dengue fever is transmitted through urban (human transmission cycle) and sylvatic (animal transmission cycle) cycles. The demand for early detection of this virus has increased to control the spread of infectious diseases and protect humankind from its harmful effects. Various methods can be employed for the laboratory diagnosis of this virus to detect the virus itself, viral nucleic acids, antibodies, or antigens, or a combination of these approaches. Recently, biosensors have emerged as a potential tool for detecting and quantifying viruses, offering fast detection, relative cost-effectiveness, and high sensitivity and selectivity compared to conventional diagnostic methods such as immunological and molecular techniques. Most biosensors employ electrochemical detection techniques with transducers, owing to their easy construction, low cost, ease of use, and portability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]