Evaluation of a New Anti-Dengue Virus IgM Particle Agglutination Kit in the Context of the Pacific Island.

The objectives of this regional study were to evaluate a new dengue IgM particle agglutination (PA) test in terms of sensitivity and specificity to compare this kit to a widely used immunochromatographic strip test and to assess its operational handling in limited settings, such as those encountered in the Pacific insular region. The sensitivity and specificity were assessed using serum-banked sera from the Pasteur Institute in New Caledonia with a commercial microplate ELISA kit taken as the reference. The prospective field part of the study was performed in the Yap State Hospital during a DENV-1 outbreak. The particle agglutination test showed a sensitivity of 76.7% and a specificity of 95.2%. For the strip assay, those characteristics were 73.3% and 83.3% respectively. The use of the particle agglutination test in Yap
confirmed its easy handling and suggested a higher sensitivity. This new particle agglutination test is useful in the Pacific islands because of higher sensitivity and specificity and operational flexibility in remote locations.