EVALUATION OF A COMMERCIAL RAPID TEST KIT FOR DETECTION OF ACUTE DENGUE INFECTION.

Early diagnosis is important for clinical management of dengue disease. While classic laboratory tests are often tedious and time consuming, point of care devices offer a rapid, cost-effective and user-friendly alternative provided their accuracy is acceptable. This study evaluated the sensitivity, specificity and efficiency of SD BIOLINE Dengue Duo® rapid NS1, IgM and IgG test kit for diagnosis of acute dengue virus infection. Standard laboratory diagnostics, RT-PCR, IgM and IgG capture ELISAs were carried out on 143 suspected dengue patient samples obtained from a Sri Lankan population. Using the results of these standard laboratory tests as reference, the sensitivity and specificity of the SD Dengue Duo® NS1 test was 57% and 87%, respectively, and those of the IgM test was 50% and 84%, respectively. The combined sensitivity and specificity of the SD Dengue Duo® NS1/ IgM test was 72% and 80%, respectively. The SD Dengue Duo® NS1 test detected NS1 for up to 9 days from onset of fever. Primary and secondary dengue cases were classified according to the IgG test, of which the kit identified 88% and 26% of primary and of secondary infection, respectively. Although the SD Dengue Duo® kit was not as accurate as the standard tests, it still can serve the useful reference for initial screening of suspected dengue cases, especially in poor resource hospital settings and aid in clinical disease management of dengue infection.