Evaluating the use of fluorescence-based flow cytometry assay for dengue diagnosis using peripheral blood mononuclear cells

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Luzia Aparecida Costa Barreira, Priscila Santos Scheucher, Marilia Farignoli Romeiro, Leonardo La Serra, Soraya Jabur Badra, William Marciel de Souza, Luiz Tadeu Moraes Figueiredo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT)
• Subjects: Dengue virus; Arbovirus; Flavivirus; Viral diagnostic; Flow cytometry; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0404-2017; https://doaj.org/article/7b77850f7d6b481f88cf3090ced8d539

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Dengue virus (DENV) is the most important arthropod-borne viral disease worldwide with an estimated 50 million infections occurring each year. METHODS: In this study, we present a flow cytometry assay (FACS) for diagnosing DENV, and compare its results with those of the non-structural protein 1 (NS1) immunochromatographic assay and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: All three assays identified 29.1% (39/134) of the patients as dengue-positive. The FACS approach and real-time RT-PCR detected the DENV in 39 and 44 samples, respectively. On the other hand, the immunochromatographic assay detected the NS1 protein in 40.1% (56/134) of the patients. The Cohen's kappa coefficient analysis revealed a substantial agreement among the three methods. CONCLUSIONS: The FACS approach may be a useful alternative for dengue diagnosis and can be implemented in public and private laboratories.