Performance of the nonstructural 1 Antigen Rapid Test for detecting all four DENV serotypes in clinical specimens from Bangkok, Thailand

BACKGROUND: Dengue is an arboviral disease that has a large effect on public health in subtropical and tropical countries. Rapid and accurate detection of dengue infection is necessary for diagnosis and disease management. We previously developed highly sensitive immunochromatographic devices, the TKK 1ˢᵗ and TKK 2ⁿᵈ kits, based on dengue virus (DENV) nonstructural protein 1 detection. However, these TKK kits were evaluated mainly using DENV type 2 clinical specimens collected in Bangladesh, and further validation using clinical specimens of other serotypes was needed. METHODS: In the present study, one of the TKK kits, TKK 2ⁿᵈ, was evaluated using 10 DENV-1, 10 DENV-2, 4 DENV-3, 16 DENV-4, and 10 zika virus-infected clinical specimens collected in Bangkok, Thailand. RESULTS: The TKK 2ⁿᵈ kit successfully detected all four DENV serotypes in patient serum specimens and did not show any cross-reactivities against zika virus serum specimens. The IgM and/or IgG anti-DENV antibodies were detected in seven serum specimens, but did not seem to affect the results of antigen detection in the TKK 2ⁿᵈ kit. CONCLUSION: The results showed that the TKK 2ⁿᵈ kit successfully detected all four DENV serotypes in clinical specimens and confirmed the potential of the kit for dengue diagnosis in endemic countries.