The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), together with the Department of Health (DOH) and the University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH), trained medical technologists from the National Children’s Hospital, Baguio General Hospital Medical Center, and Region VII on the new dengue diagnostic tool last November 13 and 14 at the RITM Training Center Molecular Biology Laboratory 2.

“We are tasked to train our regional counterparts on how to utilize the NAAT-LAMP (Nucleic Acid Amplification Test-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification Assay). In fact, this is the fourth training my team has conducted for this year,” said National Reference Laboratory for Dengue and other arbovirus Senior Research Specialist Ava Kristy Sy.

Introduced in 2017 by the National Dengue Prevention and Control Program (NDPCP), the NAAT-LAMP serves as a portable molecular dengue diagnostic test that almost has the same accuracy with the Polymerase Chain reaction (PCR) test without requiring sophisticated equipment and facility.

Led by Dr. Raul Destura of UP-NIH, the NAAT-LAMP is simpler and cheaper, but still with 100% specificity and 85.45% sensitivity. The portable diagnostic test is mandated to be integrated in the NDPCP of Regions I, Region VI and Region XI.

by Allenor Enciso, Communication and Engagement Office [RITM Web Team]