1
|
Pollak NM, Olsson M, Ahmed M, Tan J, Lim G, Setoh YX, Wong JCC, Lai YL, Hobson-Peters J, Macdonald J, McMillan D. Rapid Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of the Four Dengue Virus Serotypes in Clinically Relevant Matrices. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0279622. [PMID: 36682882 PMCID: PMC9927141 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02796-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The efficient and accurate diagnosis of dengue, a major mosquito-borne disease, is of primary importance for clinical care, surveillance, and outbreak control. The identification of specific dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) to DENV-4 can help in understanding the transmission dynamics and spread of dengue disease. The four rapid low-resource serotype-specific dengue tests use a simple sample preparation reagent followed by reverse transcription-isothermal recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) combined with lateral flow detection (LFD) technology. Results are obtained directly from clinical sample matrices in 35 min, requiring only a heating block and pipettes for liquid handling. In addition, we demonstrate that the rapid sample preparation step inactivates DENV, improving laboratory safety. Human plasma and serum were spiked with DENV, and DENV was detected with analytical sensitivities of 333 to 22,500 median tissue culture infectious doses (TCID50)/mL. The analytical sensitivities in blood were 94,000 to 333,000 TCID50/mL. Analytical specificity testing confirmed that each test could detect multiple serotype-specific strains but did not respond to strains of other serotypes, closely related flaviviruses, or chikungunya virus. Clinical testing on 80 human serum samples demonstrated test specificities of between 94 and 100%, with a DENV-2 test sensitivity of 100%, detecting down to 0.004 PFU/μL, similar to the sensitivity of the PCR test; the other DENV tests detected down to 0.03 to 10.9 PFU/μL. Collectively, our data suggest that some of our rapid dengue serotyping tests provide a potential alternative to conventional labor-intensive RT-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) detection, which requires expensive thermal cycling instrumentation, technical expertise, and prolonged testing times. Our tests provide performance and speed without compromising specificity in human plasma and serum and could become promising tools for the detection of high DENV loads in resource-limited settings. IMPORTANCE 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.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nina M. Pollak
- Centre for Bioinnovation, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
- DMTC Ltd., Kew, Victoria, Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - Malin Olsson
- Centre for Bioinnovation, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
- DMTC Ltd., Kew, Victoria, Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - Madeeha Ahmed
- Centre for Bioinnovation, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| | - Javier Tan
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore
| | - George Lim
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Yin Xiang Setoh
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Yee Ling Lai
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jody Hobson-Peters
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Joanne Macdonald
- DMTC Ltd., Kew, Victoria, Australia
- BioCifer Pty. Ltd., Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - David McMillan
- Centre for Bioinnovation, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
- DMTC Ltd., Kew, Victoria, Australia
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Walker J, Pyke A, Florian P, Moore F, Smoll N, Adegbija O, Khan A, Hasan R, Carroll H, Harris RR, Kandaker G. Re-emergence of dengue virus in regional Queensland: 2019 dengue virus outbreak in Rockhampton, Central Queensland, Australia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2021; 45. [PMID: 34139967 DOI: 10.33321/cdi.2021.45.31] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Objective(s) To describe an autochthonous dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) outbreak in Central Queensland from May 2019 and subsequent public health actions. Design and setting Public health outbreak investigation of locally acquired DENV-2 cases in Rockhampton, Central Queensland. This included laboratory investigations, associated mosquito vector surveillance, and control measures implemented in response to the outbreak. Results Twenty-one locally-acquired DENV-2 cases were identified during the Rockhampton outbreak (from 23 May to 7 October 2019): 13 laboratory-confirmed and eight probable cases. Clinical symptoms included lethargy (100%); fever (95%); headache (95%); and aches and pains (90%). Inspections of premises demonstrated that Aedes aegypti was present in 9.5% of those investigated which was more than half of the premises identified as containing mosquitoes. Nucleotide sequencing of a DENV-2 isolate recovered from the first confirmed case and DENV-2 RNA from an additional 5 patients indicated a single DENV-2 strain was responsible for the outbreak which was most closely related to DENV-2 strains from Southeast Asia. Conclusions The 2019 DENV-2 outbreak in Rockhampton, Central Queensland, Australia, likely resulted from the importation of a strain, most closely related to DENV-2 strains from Southeast Asia and is the first reported outbreak in the region specifically implicating DENV-2. Given the presence of Aedes aegypti in Rockhampton, appropriate medical and mosquito avoidance advice; ongoing surveillance; and deployment of mosquito control strategies for the prevention of dengue and other mosquito-borne diseases should be priorities for this region.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacina Walker
- Central Queensland Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.,National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Alyssa Pyke
- Public Health Virology Laboratory, Forensic and Scientific Services, Coopers Plains, Queensland, Australia
| | | | - Fred Moore
- Public Health Virology Laboratory, Forensic and Scientific Services, Coopers Plains, Queensland, Australia
| | - Nicolas Smoll
- Central Queensland Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Odewumi Adegbija
- Central Queensland Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Arifuzzaman Khan
- Central Queensland Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Rashidul Hasan
- Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
| | - Heidi Carroll
- Communicable Disease Branch, Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Rachael Rodney Harris
- National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Gulam Kandaker
- Central Queensland Public Health Unit, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia.,Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|