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Diagnosis should be suspected in endemic areas whenever a high fever goes on for two to seven days, especially if accompanied by a bleeding tendency. Symptoms of shock should suggest the progression of the disease to DSS.
The arbovirus causing dengue fever is one of the few types of arbovirus that can be isolated from the serum of the blood. The serum is the fluid in which blood cells are suspended. Serum can be tested because the phase in which the virus travels throughout the bloodstream is longer in dengue fever than in other arboviral infections. A number of tests are used to look for reactions between the patient's serum and laboratory-produced antibodies. Antibodies are special cells that recognize the markers (or antigens) present on invading organisms. During these tests, antibodies are added to a sample of the patient's serum. Healthcare workers then look for reactions that would only occur if viral antigens were present in that serum.
— Rosalyn Carson-DeWitt, MD
