Rapid Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of the Four Dengue Virus Serotypes in Clinically Relevant Matrices
Nina M. Pollak, Malin A. Olsson, Madeeha Ahmed, Javier Tan, George Lim, Yin Xiang Setoh, Judith Chui Ching Wong, Yee Ling Lai, Jody Hobson‐Peters, Joanne Macdonald, David J. McMillan
Abstract
The efficient and accurate diagnosis of dengue, a major mosquito-borne disease, is of primary importance for clinical care, surveillance, and outbreak control. This study describes the evaluation of four rapid low-resource serotype-specific dengue tests for the detection of specific DENV serotypes in clinical sample matrices. The tests use a simple sample preparation reagent followed by reverse transcription-isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) combined with lateral flow detection (LFD) technology. These tests have several advantages compared to RT-qPCR detection, such as a simple workflow, rapid sample processing and turnaround times (35 min from sample preparation to detection), minimal equipment needs, and improved laboratory safety through the inactivation of the virus during the sample preparation step. The low-resource formats of these rapid dengue serotyping tests have the potential to support effective dengue disease surveillance and enhance the diagnostic testing capacity in resource-limited countries with both endemic dengue and intense coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission.