Sensitivity and specificity of three ELISA-based assays for discriminating primary from secondary acute dengue virus infection

• Published in: Journal of clinical virology Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 230 - 233
• Main Authors: de Souza, Vanda Akico Ueda Fick, Tateno, Adriana Fumie, Oliveira, Renato Reis, Domingues, Renan B, Araújo, Evaldo Stanislau, Kuster, Gustavo W, Pannuti, Cláudio Sérgio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-07-2007; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Allergy and Immunology; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Antibody Affinity; Arboviroses; Biological and medical sciences; Convalescence; Dengue; Dengue - diagnosis; Dengue - immunology; Dengue - physiopathology; Dengue - virology; Dengue fevers; Dengue virus; Dengue Virus - immunology; Diagnosis; ELISA; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human viral diseases; Humans; Immunoglobulin G - blood; Immunoglobulin M - blood; Infectious Disease; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Microbiology; Miscellaneous; Predictive Value of Tests; Primary and secondary infection; Sensitivity and Specificity; Tropical viral diseases; Viral diseases; Virology; Diagnosis; Primary and secondary infection; Dengue; ELISA; Microbiology; Primary infection; Acute; Virology; Infection; Sensitivity; Specificity; Viral disease; Arbovirus disease; ELISA assay
• ISSN: 1386-6532; 1873-5967
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jcv.2007.04.005

Abstract Background Discrimination between primary and secondary dengue virus infection traditionally has been performed using the hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. However, this test has practical limitations and disadvantages. Objective To evaluate the ability of three ELISA-based methods (IgG avidity test, IgM/IgG ratio and IgG titer) to discriminate primary from secondary dengue infection. Study design Serum samples from convalescent-phase patients with confirmed acute, primary ( n = 46) or secondary ( n = 33) dengue virus infection were tested using three ELISA-based methods. A ROC curve was employed to establish the cut-off points and to evaluate the ability of the three methods to distinguish between acute, primary and secondary dengue virus infection. Results All three assays exhibited sensitivity and negative predictive values of 100% for defining secondary infection. The specificity and positive predictive values were respectively 97.8% and 93.7% for the IgG avidity test, 95.7% and 88.2% for the IgM/IgG ratio assays, and 97.8% and 93.7% for the IgG titer assay. Conclusion All three ELISA-based assays proved reliable tools for discriminating between acute, primary and secondary dengue virus infection when using serum samples from convalescent-phase patients.