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Quest Gets Brazilian OK for Dengue MDx Test

NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Quest Diagnostics today said that its Simplexa Dengue molecular diagnostic test kit has been approved for use in Brazil for public and private health labs.

The test, which has been registered with the National Agency of Sanitary Vigilance, was developed by Quest's Focus Diagnostics business. It runs on the 3M Integrated Cycler instrument platform and uses RT-PCR to quantitatively detect and differentiate between the four Dengue serotypes (viruses DEN1-4). The firm added that results can be provided in as few as 60 minutes following sample extraction.

"Public health and private clinicians in Brazil now have, for the first time, a registered commercial molecular-based tool for testing specimens in their own molecular laboratories," John Hurrell, VP and GM of Focus Diagnostics, said in a statement. "A reliable solution that can quickly identify patients with primary or secondary dengue infections will help physicians improve clinical management of patients in dengue-endemic areas."

According to Quest, Brazil has the greatest number of dengue infections in the Americas, with nearly a million cases annually. The country accounts for 60 percent of the region's dengue infections, it added.