Underreporting of Dengue-4 in Brazil due to low sensitivity of the NS1 Ag test in routine control programs

Vanessa Ramos Faria Sea; Ana Cecília Ribeiro Cruz; Ricardo Q Gurgel; Bruno Tardelli Diniz Nunes; Eliana Vieira Pinto Silva; Silvio S Dolabella; Roseli La Corte dos Santos

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0064056

Underreporting of Dengue-4 in Brazil due to low sensitivity of the NS1 Ag test in routine control programs

PLoS One. 2013 May 23;8(5):e64056. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0064056. Print 2013.

Authors

Vanessa Ramos Faria Sea¹, Ana Cecília Ribeiro Cruz, Ricardo Q Gurgel, Bruno Tardelli Diniz Nunes, Eliana Vieira Pinto Silva, Silvio S Dolabella, Roseli La Corte dos Santos

Affiliation

¹ Universidade Federal de Sergipe, Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil.

Abstract

We have identified fifty-eight samples that were positive for Dengue-4 among 119 samples with negative diagnoses for dengue via the Platelia™ dengue NS1 Ag in Aracaju, State of Sergipe, Brazil. We determined that the low sensitivity of the NS1 Ag test could be related to secondary dengue infections in the studied population. Therefore, we concluded that the sensitivity and specificity of the Platelia™ dengue NS1 Ag test as a screening method for monitoring circulating dengue serotypes must be reevaluated. In addition, regional endo-epidemic profiles should also be considered due to the prevalence of secondary responses.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Antibodies, Viral / blood*
Antigens, Viral / immunology
Brazil / epidemiology
Dengue / diagnosis*
Dengue / epidemiology
Dengue / immunology
Dengue Virus / immunology*
Diagnostic Errors
Epidemics*
Humans
Incidence
Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
Sensitivity and Specificity
Viral Nonstructural Proteins / immunology

Substances

Antibodies, Viral
Antigens, Viral
Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
Viral Nonstructural Proteins

Grants and funding

This study was partially funded by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES Edital 32/2010; www.capes.gov.br). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. No additional external funding received for this study.