An investigation and analysis of past, present, and future research on the dengue virus in Bangkok, Thailand emphasizing the research previously conducted at the Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences during the summer of 2011

The dengue virus is the most common arbovirus in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. After analyzing the evolutionary history of the dengue virus, the health risks it presents, prevention methods, and the progress and setbacks that are currently being made in vaccine development, scientists understand the important role detection plays in combatting the virus. The research conducted in this thesis attempts to improve detection of the dengue virus using samples that were previously shown as negative by conventional RT-PCR but positive by ELISA. After designing new primers, conventional RT-PCR was able to detect 22% of the dengue mutants. The results from qRT-PCR, ELISA, and conventional RT-PCR were compared with the clinical data to recognize any possible trends between viral symptoms and the percentage of detection as well as account for possible differences in sensitivity.