Abstract

Background - Dengue diagnosis is routinely carried out by detection of dengue virus (DENV) antigen NS1 or anti-DENV IgM antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and rapid diagnostic tests. This study was aimed at evaluation of quality of diagnostic assays currently in use in India for the identification of DENV infection.
Methodology
Study design - Retrospective Study.
Study Centre - Microbiology LaboratoryBundelkhand Medical College, Sagar, Madhya Pradesh
Study duration - June to November 2021
Methods and material- Serum samples from patients (n=1003) seeking dengue diagnosis were tested using J Mitra dengue NS1 antigen Microlisa kit andMedSourcedengue NS1rapid antigen diagnostic kits. The presence of NS1 antigen was taken as evidence for dengue-positive diagnosis.
Result – In this record review J Mitra ELISA identified 91% patients as dengue NS1 positive. J Mitra ELISA taken as reference, the Medsourcedengue NS1 test kit was found to be less sensitive (82.4%) and less specific (87.8%).
Interpretation &conclusions - These results confirmed superiority of ELISAs forNS1 antigen dengue diagnosis, and emphasized on improvement in sensitivity of RDTs.