title: [Detection of dengue virus antigen in post-mortem tissues].
abstract: The epidemiological situation of dengue has worsened over the last decade. The difficulties in preventing its transmission and the absence of a vaccine or specific treatment have made dengue a serious risk to public health, health centers and research systems at different levels. Currently, most studies on the pathogenesis of dengue infection focus on the T-cell immune response almost exclusively in secondary infections and are aimed at identifying the mechanisms involved in the development of vascular permeability and bleeding events that accompany the infection. This report describes the case of a baby girl less than 45 days of age with clinical signs of severe dengue, whose diagnosis was confirmed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in post-mortem tissue samples and by the ancillary diagnostic use of immunohistochemistry, which detected viral antigens in all organs obtained at autopsy. This case highlights the importance of studying primary infections associated with severe dengue, particularly in children, who are more likely to develop the severe form of the disease without previous infection, and it further stresses the importance of a diagnosis that should not be based solely on the examination of liver tissue samples when studying the pathogenesis of the viral infection.
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Morfología Celular, Dirección de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D.C, Colombia.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Patología, Dirección Red en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D.C, Colombia.
authors.forename: Marcela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neira
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Patología, Dirección Red en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D.C, Colombia.
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Parra
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Virología, Dirección Red en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D.C, Colombia.
authors.forename: Jairo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Méndez
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Morfología Celular, Dirección de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D.C, Colombia.
authors.forename: Ladys
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sarmiento
authors.affiliation: Grupo de Morfología Celular, Dirección de Investigación en Salud Pública, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, D.C, Colombia.
authors.forename: María Leonor
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Caldas
mesh_terms: D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D001344:Autopsy / Q000379:methods*; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003715:Dengue / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D003716:Dengue Virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D007223:Infant; D007668:Kidney / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D009928:Organ Specificity; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral