Abstract

Sekaran, S. D.*, Ew, C. L., Subramaniam, G., Kanthesh, B. M

We have evaluated a commercial enzyme immunoassay for the rapid detection of dengue NS1 antigen in human sera. The PLATELIATM Dengue antigen assay was compared with the in-house IgM and TaqMan real-time RT -PCR using a panel of sera from primary acute and convalescent dengue infections, secondary acute and convalescent dengue infections, IgM-positive samples, tissue culture supernatant and other flaviviral infections. Of the 93 acute serum samples 82 were positive for NS1 antigen using the PLATELIATM Dengue antigen assay. Overall, the NS1 detection rate was much higher in the acute primary dengue (100%) than in the acute secondary dengue (53.3%) serum samples. Both the PLATELIATM Dengue antigen assay and the TaqMan real-time RT-PCR assay were highly specific (100%). The overall sensitivity of the PLATELIATM Dengue antigen assay was 93.9% and 55% in the absence and presence of IgM, respectively. The results indicate that the PLATELIATM Dengue antigen assay is a specific and sensitive assay for the detection of dengue virus infections during the primary acute phase when IgM is not detectable.