Rapid Kit Research Articles

Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis by rapid antigen detection kit with RT-qPCR in a tertiary care setup in North Eastern India.

Real time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) is still considered a gold standard for the diagnosis of COVID-19. However, due to several limitations, use of RT-qPCR is limited in a resource poor setting like North East India. Rapid antigen detection testing kit has revolutionized the diagnosis and management of COVID-19 in India. However, conflicting reports exist regarding the efficacy of the kits for diagnosis of COVID-19. This study aims to highlight the performance of Standard Q COVID-19® Antigen detection kit (SD Biosensor) compared with RT-qPCR in the setup of North East India. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swab samples were collected from consenting patients attending the flu clinic in the period from 1st July to December 31, 2020. Samples were transferred to Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) for RT-qPCR test. Antigen detection from the patient samples were undertaken using Standard Q ® COVID-19 antigen detection kit (SD Biosensor, Republic of Korea). Data were then analyzed for comparison between RT-qPCR and antigen kit results. During the study period, 189 samples were collected, out of which 119 were positive by RT-qPCR. Out of 119 positive samples, calculated sensitivity and specificity of the rapid antigen kit was 63% and 100% respectively. Sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy increases in symptomatic patients as compared to asymptomatic patients. Cohen's Kappa coefficient showed a moderate association (0.6) between the kit and RT-qPCR test. The kit performed optimally at a CT value of ≤32.5 for N gene with a predicted sensitivity of 77.3% and specificity of 93.3%. The study shows an overall acceptable sensitivity and specificity of the testing kit, with a better performance in symptomatic patients. The association of the kit result is moderate with the results obtained in RT-qPCR. In this study, the rapid antigen test kit performed optimally at N gene qRT PCR cut off value of ≤32.5.

HIV-1/2 prevalence among patients attending the Accident and Emergency Clinic in Southwest Nigeria.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) pandemic is without a doubt one of the most significant public health disasters of our day. It is a complex mashup of various epidemics that have spread inside and between different nations and areas of the world. Patients, who had retroviral screening in the Accident and Emergency Department of University College Hospital, Ibadan, were included in this retrospective analysis. In total, 2,321 patients were screened over the course of a year, and 83 (3.6%) of those had positive HIV-1/2 quick diagnostic test results using the Determine HIV-1/2, Uni-Gold HIV-1/2, and Stak-pak HIV-1/2 rapid diagnostic kits. A total of 1,248 (53.8%) males and 1,073 (46.2%) females were tested the positive values for men and women, respectively, were 42 (50.6%) and 41 (49.4%) (P = 0.921).

PREVALENCE OF MALARIA USING TWO RAPID DIAGNOSTIC TEST KIT IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF MALARIA IN GOMBE STATE, NIGERIA.

This study aims at evaluating the comparative diagnostic efficiencies of two commercially available kits in relation to microscopy in detecting Plasmodium falciparum HRP-2, a polyhistidine antigen in urine and blood of febrile patients for malaria diagnosis along with blood based RDTs. This was an observational study in which matched blood and urine from symptomatic patients were tested for malaria using two rapid tests, with microscopy as gold standard in the outpatient clinic of Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, Gombe state North Eastern Nigeria were enrolled who presented with fever (≥37.5°C). Thick films were prepared, stained and examined for malaria parasite under the microscope using the oil immersion objective while urine samples as well as blood were taken and immediately tested using RDTs. 
 With the blood smear microscopy as standard, the disease prevalence was 68.4% and sensitivity for the UMT and SD Bio line (Blood RDT) was 70.1% respectively. The RDT had a specificity of 96.3% as well as the positive and negative predictive values were 97.6% and 59.7% respectively. The rapid diagnostic kits showed moderate level of sensitivity compared with blood smear microscopy as they show considerable acceptable levels in the diagnosis of malaria.

Rapid prototyping mixed-signal development kit for tactile neural computing.

Intelligent sensor systems are essential for building modern Internet of Things applications. Embedding intelligence within or near sensors provides a strong case for analog neural computing. However, rapid prototyping of analog or mixed signal spiking neural computing is a non-trivial and time-consuming task. We introduce mixed-mode neural computing arrays for near-sensor-intelligent computing implemented with Field-Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAA) and Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). The combinations of FPAA and FPGA pipelines ensure rapid prototyping and design optimization before finalizing the on-chip implementations. The proposed approach architecture ensures a scalable neural network testing framework along with sensor integration. The experimental set up of the proposed tactile sensing system in demonstrated. The initial simulations are carried out in SPICE, and the real-time implementation is validated on FPAA and FPGA hardware.

ROCKETS - a novel one-for-all toolbox for light sheet microscopy in drug discovery.

Advancing novel immunotherapy strategies requires refined tools in preclinical research to thoroughly assess drug targets, biodistribution, safety, and efficacy. Light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) offers unprecedented fast volumetric ex vivo imaging of large tissue samples in high resolution. Yet, to date laborious and unstandardized tissue processing procedures have limited throughput and broader applications in immunological research. Therefore, we developed a simple and harmonized protocol for processing, clearing and imaging of all mouse organs and even entire mouse bodies. Applying this Rapid Optical Clearing Kit for Enhanced Tissue Scanning (ROCKETS) in combination with LSFM allowed us to comprehensively study the in vivo biodistribution of an antibody targeting Epithelial Cell Adhesion Molecule (EpCAM) in 3D. Quantitative high-resolution scans of whole organs did not only reveal known EpCAM expression patterns but, importantly, uncovered several new EpCAM-binding sites. We identified gustatory papillae of the tongue, choroid plexi in the brain and duodenal papillae as previously unanticipated locations of high EpCAM expression. Subsequently, we confirmed high EpCAM expression also in human tongue and duodenal specimens. Choroid plexi and duodenal papillae may be considered as particularly sensitive sites due to their importance for liquor production or as critical junctions draining bile and digestive pancreatic enzymes into the small bowel, respectively. These newly gained insights appear highly relevant for clinical translation of EpCAM-addressing immunotherapies. Thus, ROCKETS in combination with LSFM may help to set new standards for preclinical evaluation of immunotherapeutic strategies. In conclusion, we propose ROCKETS as an ideal platform for a broader application of LSFM in immunological research optimally suited for quantitative co-localization studies of immunotherapeutic drugs and defined cell populations in the microanatomical context of organs or even whole mice.

Sensitivity and specificity of a rapid antigen assay for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 during the surge of B.1.1.529 variant

Background: As COVID-19 spread across the globe, the new variants continued to emerge, leading to a rapid surge in the cases and thereby overwhelming the testing laboratories. As Rapid antigen test kits became available, they complimented the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based testing and thereby moderately disburdening the testing laboratories. However, to increase the testing capacities, the regulatory authorities approved these rapid kits with little scrutiny. Therefore, validation of rapid antigen testing kits becomes essential before they are used as viable alternatives to RT-PCR based testing. Aims and Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of OSKIT SARS-CoV-2 corona antigen test (Oscar Medicare Pvt. Ltd., India) to that of COVID-19 ONE-STEP RT-PCR KIT (Meril Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd., India). Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, spanning the peak of third wave in India (Between December 1 and January 31, 2022), 242 specimens were collected and analyzed by comparing their results both by OSKIT SARS-CoV-2 Corona Antigen Test and COVID-19 ONE-STEP RT-PCR KIT. The various clinico-epidemiological attributes of the patients were taken into consideration and used to analyze the results. Results: Rapid antigen tests (RAT) was positive in 44 individuals, giving an overall sensitivity of 67.31%. Sensitivity increased when Ct value of below 30 was taken a positive or when only symptomatic individuals were taken for analysis. Sensitivity was highest in case the duration of symptoms was <5 days (92.86%). When comparing RAT results with Ct value of the screening gene (N gene), a higher proportion of positive cases was observed for lower Ct values. Further analysis revealed that majority of the RAT positive cases were from that subset of symptomatic patients who had a history of symptoms of <5 days. Conclusion: The COVID-19 rapid antigen test evaluated in this study was able to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection with high viral loads in both asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals. Thus, this test can serve as a rapid tool for reducing community spread of the virus. The study concludes that the duration since symptom onset greatly affects sensitivity of antigen testing.

Submerged leaves of live indoor foliage plants adsorb H1N1 influenza virus from suspension

ABSTRACT Control of hazardous indoor particles using plants has attracted interest due to the increasing worldwide air pollution and spread of pandemic-causing viruses. However, the interaction between human pathogenic viruses (HPVs) and live plants has not been examined largely due to issues in detecting tiny amounts of infectious viruses in a carrier (such as an aerosol) and the lack of suitable examination methods. In this study, as a novel evaluation method, the effect of submerged leaves of live plants on HPVs in water was examined, using the H1N1 influenza virus as a model. Selected plant foliage of a live plant was immersed in a small bag containing HPV water suspension. In an initial screening test, the activities of 20 different plant species on the virus suspension were evaluated using a rapid virus detection kit. Ten plant species had the capability to decrease virus concentrations in the water suspension within 72 h. Among the experimental plant species, Epipremnum aureum showed the highest virus decreasing characteristics when examined using both the kit and quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction. The capacity of immersed leaf of live E. aureum to decrease viral content was enhanced when the plant-containing pot was electrically grounded to the earth (approximately 70% decrease in virus concentration). The foliage sample analysis showed that virus adsorption to the plant foliage surface could be the major reason for the decrease in the suspension. These results suggest that the proposed method can be applied to select plants to further investigate plant–HPV interactions.

A home-made pipette droplet microfluidics rapid prototyping and training kit for digital PCR, microorganism/cell encapsulation and controlled microgel synthesis

Droplet microfluidics offers a platform from which new digital molecular assay, disease screening, wound healing and material synthesis technologies have been proposed. However, the current commercial droplet generation, assembly and imaging technologies are too expensive and rigid to permit rapid and broad-range tuning of droplet features/cargoes. This rapid prototyping bottleneck has limited further expansion of its application. Herein, an inexpensive home-made pipette droplet microfluidics kit is introduced. This kit includes elliptical pipette tips that can be fabricated with a simple DIY (Do-It-Yourself) tool, a unique tape-based or 3D printed shallow-center imaging chip that allows rapid monolayer droplet assembly/immobilization and imaging with a smart-phone camera or miniature microscope. The droplets are generated by manual or automatic pipetting without expensive and lab-bound microfluidic pumps. The droplet size and fluid viscosity/surface tension can be varied significantly because of our particular droplet generation, assembly and imaging designs. The versatility of this rapid prototyping kit is demonstrated with three representative applications that can benefit from a droplet microfluidic platform: (1) Droplets as microreactors for PCR reaction with reverse transcription to detect and quantify target RNAs. (2) Droplets as microcompartments for spirulina culturing and the optical color/turbidity changes in droplets with spirulina confirm successful photosynthetic culturing. (3) Droplets as templates/molds for controlled synthesis of gold-capped polyacrylamide/gold composite Janus microgels. The easily fabricated and user-friendly portable kit is hence ideally suited for design, training and educational labs.

Development, preparation, and evaluation of a novel dotted lateral flow immunochromatographic kit for rapid diagnosis of dermatophytosis

Dermatophytosis is a widely spread contagious zoonotic disease, affecting both man (tinea) and animals (ringworm). This disease is caused by a group of closely related keratinophilic fungi known collectively as the dermatophytes group. Although the wide distribution of dermatophytosis cases throughout the whole world and its adverse clinical effect on human health, economical effect on productive animals, and pet animal welfare, there is no rapid accurate diagnostic tool for such disease. The current conducted study tries to accomplish the difficult equation by achieving an accurate, sensitive, specific, user-friendly, rapid, robust, device-less, deliverable to end-users, and economic cost for the development and production of diagnostic kits. Through the development of a rapid diagnostic kit based on immunochromatographic assay with three major affordable reproducible production stages; preliminary stage, developmental and standardization stage, and evaluation stage. Obtaining dermatophytes-specific polyclonal antibodies against criteria-based selected dermatophytes strains associating proper gold nanoparticle preparation, characterization, and conjugation, with proper loading of the different bio-reactants on the efficiently laminated and fabricated lateral flow strips were the main challenge and control points through the whole process. Also, as a result of examining 100 animal samples using the new kit, the κ coefficients of the kit with the direct microscopy while the kit with the culture were 0.44 and 0.76, respectively. Therefore, the newly designated and developed kit showed a very promising competitive diagnostic result within 5–7 min through easy-to-be-performed three steps.

Rapid PCR kit: lateral flow paper strip with Joule heater for SARS-CoV-2 detection.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostic kits for point-of-care (POC) testing are highly desirable to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Here, we demonstrate a rapid PCR testing kit that involves integrating a lateral flow paper strip with a nichrome-based thin film heater. The use of a paper membrane as a PCR-solution container results in fast thermocycling without a cooler because the membrane can contain the solution with a high specific surface area where Joule heating is applied. After PCR, amplified products are simultaneously detected at the lateral flow paper strip with the naked eye. Severe acute respiratory syndrome β-coronavirus RNA can be detected within 30 min after PCR solution injection. This work reveals that the paper membrane can act as not only a capillary flow channel but also as a promising platform for fast PCR and detection.

Hepatitis B Viral Load Patterns in HBsAg-Positive Antenatal Women and their Correlation with Stages of Pregnancy: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Screening for Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) during pregnancy is essential, as maternal viremia is directly proportional to perinatal transmission. However, there is insufficient literature available on the viral load pattern of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) in different trimesters of pregnancy. Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence and estimate the viral load of HBsAg among antenatal women in different trimesters of pregnancy. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital in Jorhat, Assam, India, from June 2017 to May 2018. A total of 7833 samples were collected from antenatal cases attending the Outpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. HBsAg positive cases were screened using a rapid diagnostic kit and Enzymelinked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Viral load was estimated using Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) after obtaining written consent. Positive patients were followed up, and viral load estimation was repeated in each trimester. Statistical analysis was performed using Epi Info software and the Mann-Whitney U test. Results: The mean age of the HBsAg positive antenatal women who participated in the study was 25.97±3.72 years. Out of the 7833 patients screened, 32 antenatal patients were found to be positive for HBsAg. The highest viral load was found to be 1 log10 (25%) and 6 log10 (25%) IU/mL. The median viral load was highest in the second trimester at 1.434×106 IU/mL, followed by the third trimester at 7.003×105 IU/mL, and the first trimester at 43.6482 IU/mL. Conclusion: The pattern of HBV viral load indicates that patients in the first trimester either had borderline or low levels compared to those in the second and third trimesters. Since the viral load pattern varies in different trimesters of pregnancy, viral load estimation is crucial for the treatment of positive patients and to reduce HBV vertical transmissions.

Seroepidemiological Study of Dengue Virus Infection Suspected Cases in Burkina Faso

Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by four related but antigenically distinct dengue viruses. In the last half-century, the prevalence of dengue fever has increased dramatically (up to 30%) worldwide, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Burkina Faso, the last dengue epidemic occurred in 2016, and the epidemiological situation is still poorly documented at the national level. Therefore, the present study aimed to conduct a sentinel seroepidemiology of suspected dengue virus infections from 2017 to 2020 at Charles de Gaulle University Pediatric Hospital Center of Ouagadougou. This investigation was designed to be a descriptive and analytical study. Patients with suspected cases of dengue fever were recruited from January 2017 to December 2020 during general medicine consultation and referred to Charles de Gaulle University Pediatric Hospital Center of Ouagadougou for the serological diagnosis of dengue. Venous blood was collected in dry or EDTA tubes and tested for DENV NS1 antigen, anti-dengue IgM, and anti-dengue IgG using SD Bioline Dengue Duo Rapid Detection Kit (Standard Diagnostic Inc., Korea). A total of 3400 blood samples from clinically suspected dengue cases were analyzed, of which 1784 (52.5%) were males, and 1616 (47.5%) were females. Among the 3400 patients included in the study, 661 (19.4%) were tested at least positive for NS1 antigen, anti-dengue IgM or anti-IgG. Among them, individuals positive for IgG suggesting past dengue virus infection were found in more than a third of 262 (7.7%) of the cases. Approximately, 80.0% (2705/3400) dengue suspected cases and 85.5% (341/399) early or primary dengue infections were recorded in the last four months of the study (September to December 2020), with a peak in mid-October and mid-November. There was no statistically significant difference in seroprevalence between males and females (p = 0.7), but an increasing seropositivity trend with age, from 11.6% for the patient under 5 years group to 39.7% for 30 years and over age group were noted. This study puts in evidence a considerable level of transmission of dengue viruses in Burkina Faso and provides baseline seroprevalence data. The recurrent outbreaks of dengue infection in multiple geographical areas need comprehensive surveillance and a diagnostic system to identify the actual burden and pinpoint the risk factors. A larger study is, therefore, needed to determine the actual prevalence of dengue in Burkina Faso and map the serotypes.

Quality assurance of malaria rapid diagnostic tests: An aid in malaria elimination.

India targets malaria elimination by 2030 in a phased manner, so malaria's assured diagnosis is crucial. Introduction of rapid diagnostic kits in India in 2010 has revolutionized malaria surveillance. The storage temperature of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), kit components and handling in transportations impact the results of RDTs. Therefore, quality assurance (QA) is required before it reaches end-users. The Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Malaria Research (ICMR-NIMR) has a World Health Organization (WHO) recognized lot-testing laboratory facility to assure the quality of RDTs. The ICMR-NIMR receives RDTs from different manufacturing companies as well as various agencies such as National and State Programmes and Central Medical Services Society. The WHO standard protocol is followed to conduct all the tests, including long-term and post-dispatch testing. A total of 323 lots tested during January 2014-March 2021 were received from different agencies. Amongst them, 299 lots passed the quality of test and 24 failed. In long-term testing, 179 lots were tested and only nine failed. A total of 7741 RDTs were received from end-users for post-dispatch testing of which 7540 qualified the QA test with a score of 97.4 per cent. RDTs received for quality testing showed compliance with QA evaluation of malaria RDTs based on the protocol recommended by the WHO. However, continuous monitoring of the quality of RDTs is required under QA programme. Quality-assured RDTs have a major role, especially in areas where low parasitaemia of parasites persists.

Canine parvo viral enteritis in dogs: Diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation

A total of 110 dogs presented to Teaching Veterinary Clinical Complex, CSKHPKV, Palampur (H.P.), India with the history of enteritis/gastroenteritis were screened for Canine Parvovirus (CPV). Out of these 110 dogs, 48 dogs were found positive for CPV by using Scanvet - a rapid antigen detection kit. All the 110 samples were subjected to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to check whether there were some cases that were false positive or false negative by Scanvet. Positive cases were, then, divided into 4 groups of 12 dogs each, with 4 different treatment regimens followed for each group. In addition to standard treatment protocol, our study tested effect of immunomodulators (Vitamin E & Selenium) and antiviral “Oseltamivir” on recovery of dogs. This type of study (using Oseltamivir and immunomodulators) was not done previously in the state and hence, our aim was to test whether this treatment increases survivability and recovery rate for dogs with Parvoviral enteritis in Himachal Pradesh. Groups containing immunomodulators were more efficacious than their counterparts without immunomodulators. Addition of Oseltamivir and immunomodulators to standard therapy resulted in reduced mortality, cessation of diarrhoea and vomiting earlier than routine therapy. Scanvet diagnostic kit was found to be a quick alternate method for diagnosis of Parvo Viral Enteritis. Overall, the group treated with antibiotic+ supportive+ symptomatic+ antiviral treatment along with immunomodulator displayed promising results.

A study to assess knowledge of primary health workers on malaria epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment in Patiala district, India

Background: India accounts for (4%) of all malaria cases worldwide. The World malaria report 2017 showed that, by 2016, global progress against malaria had stalled and was off track to meet the Global Technical Strategy milestones for 2020. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess knowledge of rural medical officers (RMO) and health workers on malaria epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment as per National Vector Borne Disease Control Program of India guidelines. Materials and methods: A descriptive, observational, and cross-sectional study was done among government health personnel’s using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: In the present study, 258 health personnel’s participated comprising multipurpose health workers female (MPHW-F), multipurpose health worker male (MPHW-M), and RMO. The standardized score on knowledge of vector biology and epidemiology was 72% and 54% for RMO and (MPHW-M), respectively. On malaria diagnosis, MPHW-M has got median score (53%) as compared to RMO (46%). On national malaria drug policy, there is a marginal difference between median score of RMO (42%) and MPHW-M (40%). Overall, there is incomplete and poor knowledge of treatment of malaria among all health personnel’s with lack of concept about presumptive treatment. Training showed some positive impact on the knowledge of MPHW-F but no impact on MPHW-M. Graduates and experienced workers have got better knowledge than undergraduates and MPHW-M have more knowledge than MPHW-F. There is poor knowledge of reporting formats, and usage of rapid diagnostic kits among all the health personnels. There was no significant impact of education qualification, in service training and work experience on the knowledge of Male health workers. Conclusion: Training needs to be suitably tailored as there is a lot of scope of improvement in the knowledge regarding malaria diagnosis and treatment among health workers.

Comparative evaluation of some techniques used for the detection of rabies virus.

Neurotropic viruses in the family Rhabdoviridae, genus Lyssavirus, are what cause rabies, an acute, progressive, and highly lethal encephalomyelitis. Evaluation of the used diagnostic techniques to determine the most simple; rapid and accurate test for rabies virus (RABV) recognition in different specimens aiming to reach a rapid diagnosis as a step aid in the disease control and to prevent or even minimize the suspected hazard. The used techniques included an infection trial of Swiss mice with the mice-adapted challenge rabies virus followed by the detection of the virus in the infected mices' brains. Virus detection was carried out through the application BHK21 cell line infection; fluorescent antibody technique; latex agglutination test (LAT); direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); rabies antigen detection kit ELISA; conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It was found that virus inoculation in mice and BHK21 cell lines needs 5-7 days with positivity of 90% and 100%, respectively. Rapid antigen kit was able to detect rabies antigen in mice brains suspension and BHK21 infected fluid within 3-5 minutes with percentages of 60% and 55.5%, respectively. In 1-1.5 hours, the direct fluorescent antibody method (DFAT) detected 90% and 100% of the rabies antigen in BHK21 cell line infection and brain impressions, respectively. Latex agglutination showed clear results with 88.8% with BHK21 infected fluid within 3-5 minutes while it did not carry out on brain emulsions to prevent falsely positive results brought on by the presence of tissue fragments. Conventional one-step PCR revealed 100% positivity with either brain or cell culture preparations within 2 days. Direct ELISA showed 88.8% positivity with BHK21 infected fluid with 1 day of work. Mice inoculation test, cell culture infection; DFAT and PCR are the most accurate techniques for the detection of RABV with a positivity of 90%-100% followed by LAT and ELISA with a positivity of 88.8%, and lastly, rabies antigen ELISA kit (RAK) with a positivity of 55.5%-60% taking in consideration the required time for each. In addition, the positivity % of the applied tests revealed their sensitivity and specificity.

SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Kit Efficacy in Comparison with Quant Studio 12 PCR

COVID-19 is an acute respiratory disease that has profoundly affected the way we test for disease and monitor viral infection. COVID-19 is caused by the novel coronavirus, SARS CoV-2. This virus is rapidly spread from person to person through contact with sputum particles, even when the infected individual is asymptomatic. Testing for the disease relies heavily on PCR molecular assays, and during the COVID-19, pandemic at-home rapid antigen test kits became widely available to improve the convenience of diagnosing the disease and increase the access to testing capabilities. COVID-19 rapid antigen kits have been a cornerstone of COVID-19 testing as a supplement for PCR testing. Rapid antigen kits can determine the presence of SARS CoV-2 using a lateral flow assay that targets the nucleocapsid protein of the virus for a qualitative result. This study aims to determine the efficacy of the rapid antigen kit by analyzing 105 rapid antigen results and comparing them with Quant Studio 12 PCR cycle threshold values. The results indicate that the lateral flow assay can detect SARS CoV-2 in samples that have a cycle threshold of 28.92 out of 40 cycles. Relative to other at-home antigen kits, the findings in this study imply that this kit is especially sensitive and able to detect low levels of viral load within patients.

PREVALENCE AND ASSOCIATED RISK FACTORS OF BOVINE BRUCELLOSIS IN SMALLHOLDER DAIRY COWS OF MYMENSINGH DISTRICT IN BANGLADESH

Background: Most of the smallholder animal farmers in rural Bangladesh depend on livestock for their livelihoods but significant percentage of these animals do not achieve their potential mainly due to inadequate nutrition and disease and occasionally transmit zoonotic disease like brucellosis. Brucellosis has been recognized as a neglected zoonotic disease in the low-income countries that produce few or no clinical signs in the affected animals making it more difficult for the dairy farmers to use preventive measures. However, sero-monitoring could help to detect the occurrence of Brucella infection in smallholder dairy farm management system. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors for positivity of bovine brucellosis by using sero-screening and milk ring test supported with questionnaire Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study on bovine brucellosis was conducted in smallholder dairy cows in the district of Mymensingh during the period from August to December 2019. Serum samples of 460 lactating cows along with their milk samples were collected randomly. Serum samples were screened for brucellosis with Rapid Antigen Kit Test and Rose Bengal Test (RBT), whereas milk samples were tested with Milk Ring Test (MRT). Farm and animal level demographic and risk factor data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Results: The overall sero-prevalence was found to be 3.9% (95% CI 2.4-6.2) using RBT and Rapid Antigen Kit Test and 2.8% (CI 1.5-4.9) using Milk Ring Test, respectively. The odds of brucellosis was 7.4 times (95% CI: 2.5-21.5) higher in cows with repeat breeding that without repeat breeding. Moreover, the sero-prevalence of brucellosis was significantly higher (Odds ratio: 15.7; 95% CI: 5.2-47.4) in cows with retention of fetal membranes than without retention of fetal membranes. Conclusions: The prevalence of Brucella infection in smallholder dairy farms with no adaptation of any preventive measures against this disease in Bangladesh. The sero-prevalence of brucellosis recorded in this study should be interpreted with caution and confirmatory diagnosis is needed to know the accurate status of brucellosis in smallholder dairy farms. The prevalence of Brucella infection in smallholder farms by using sero-test and milk ring test warrants further molecular test prior to embarking on a control program.

Challenges and Achievements in Fighting Infectious Diseases to Promote Sustainable Maternal and Child Health in Kenya - Multiplex Immunodiagnosis Solution for HIV, HBV, Syphilis among Fertile Women in Kenya -

In Kenya, the ‘Linda Mama Program’, a free care program for pregnant women, is being implemented, but as of 2017, maternal deaths per 100,000 live births reached 342, and the infection rate such as AIDS, hepatitis B, and syphilis is high. Diagnosis is being made centering on a quick simple test (rapid diagnosis), but the reliability is low, so an accurate and quick diagnosis method is needed. Through the Innovative Technology Program (CTS) of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), we developed a multi-immune diagnostic device and multi-diagnostic kit that can diagnose AIDS, hepatitis B, and syphilis, which can be tested with minimal education at schools and local public health centers in addition to hospitals. The sensitivity and specificity of the diagnostic kit were each 90% or more, which was improved by more than 20% compared to the rapid diagnostic kits. The supply of cost-competitive diagnostic devices and test kits will enable continuous monitoring of AIDS, hepatitis B, and syphilis infections among women of childbearing age between the ages of 15 and 49, thereby contributing to the improvement of maternal and child health.

Evaluation of the Immunochromatography Assay's Diagnostic Performance for Quickly Detecting the Presence of COVID-19 Antigen in Patients with Positive PCR Results

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SAR-CoV-2) is the novel infectious disease agent that causes COVID-19. The laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 is based on nucleic acid-based virus genome sequencing and real-time PCR and serological methods, rapid antigenic testing. The aim of the study was to evaluate the diagnostic sensitivity of the immunochromatography method by comparing it with PCR in covid-19 diagnosis. The study involved 116 samples, 90 samples included covid-19 patients and 26 samples included healthy, as a control group. Two nasopharyngeal swabs (NP) were taken, one for an antigenic test cassette and the other swab for re-confirmation of the infection by a real-time RT-PCR. The result of this study showed that there was a significant difference (P value = 0.0001) between RT PCR and rapid Ag tests in patients and healthy groups. The low sensitivity recorded for rapid antigen detection kits was 69% and 70%, respectively, compared with the 100% sensitivity of PCR. This study demonstrated an elevated positive rate of rapid Ag positive during the period (8–14 days) of symptoms onset. This study concluded that the rapid antigen test is a helpful tool for detecting the presence of COVID-19 infection, but it may not be the best alternative due to its low sensitivity.