PLoS ONE (Jan 2013)

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
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0064056
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 5
p. e64056

Abstract

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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.