Automated Test Distinguishes Dengue from Acute Fever-Causing Illnesses In 18 Minutes

In 2024 alone, more than 14.6 million infections and 12,000 deaths were reported across over 100 countries, marking the highest number ever recorded within a single year. As half of the world’s population now lives in areas at risk, early and accurate diagnosis is critical for initiating appropriate patient management, which can significantly lower fatality rates, and for enabling effective surveillance to control potential outbreaks. Since the initial symptoms of dengue are often non-specific, distinguishing it from other febrile illnesses is a critical diagnostic challenge. Now, a fully automated immunoassay enables early and reliable dengue detection for confident patient management.

Roche’s (Basel, Switzerland) Elecsys Dengue Ag test is a high-throughput, fully automated immunoassay designed to detect the NS1 antigen of the dengue virus — a key marker of acute infection during the early phase of illness. The new test, developed for use on Roche’s cobas e 801 and cobas e 402 immunoassay analyzers, represents a significant advancement in diagnostic efficiency, accuracy, and scalability for dengue detection.

The Elecsys Dengue Ag test delivers results in just 18 minutes, supporting laboratory throughput of 120 to 300 tests per hour. It demonstrated 94.90% clinical sensitivity (CI: 91.44–97.26%) in PCR-confirmed positive samples and 99.96% relative specificity (CI: 99.79–100%) in healthy donor cohorts, ensuring clinicians can confidently distinguish dengue from other acute febrile illnesses such as chikungunya and yellow fever. Importantly, it shows comprehensive inclusivity for all four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4).

The test’s full automation enhances laboratory workflow efficiency, minimizes manual intervention, and improves traceability—critical during outbreak conditions when testing demand surges. It forms part of Roche’s upcoming Elecsys Dengue Panel, which will include IgM and IgG tests to support diagnosis at all disease stages, from acute infection to long-term immunity monitoring.

“Dengue’s rapid worldwide spread has elevated it to a serious global burden, placing a significant strain on healthcare resources,” said Matt Sause, CEO of Roche Diagnostics. “Roche is committed to supporting the global response to the rise of infectious diseases such as dengue. With our novel Elecsys Dengue antigen test, we enable healthcare systems to diagnose dengue more reliably and efficiently.”