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As part of the prevention measures and also to speed up the diagnosis of dengue fever, the City of Criciúma, through the Municipal Health Department, has acquired 2,500 rapid tests that will be made available at the health unit in the boa vista district. At the moment, the tests are being analyzed by the Central Laboratory of Public Health (Lacen) in Santa Catarina. “At the moment, the situation with regard to dengue in Criciúma is under control and the tests are being accommodated by Lacen. However, for a better response, we will have the rapid tests available ”, explains Criciúma Health Surveillance Director, Samuel Bucco.
Rapid tests will only be available to patients suspected of having dengue. “This test will help us a lot in the fight against dengue, because it is a kit that detects the NS1 antigen and also the IgG and IgM antibodies. This makes it possible for us to detect if a person actually has the disease, since the onset of symptoms ”says the epidemiological surveillance coordinator of Criciúma, Andrea Goulart.
Thus, in the event of a positive result, the municipal epidemiological surveillance can initiate containment measures. “With the agility offered by these tests, it will be possible to quickly isolate infected patients and thus take the necessary measures to prevent transmission of infection to other people,” the coordinator concludes.
Training of professionals
This week, the municipal health department ramped up training with the professionals who will be responsible for administering the rapid tests. “The protocol is practically ready, as well as the flowchart for handling suspected cases. It is likely that this protocol will already be operational in our service network from next week,” explains Bucco.
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