Development of an affordable multiplex quantitative RT-PCR assay for early detection and surveillance of Dengue, Chikungunya, and co-infections from clinical samples in resource-limited settings.

BACKGROUND

Dengue and Chikungunya are Aedes-borne diseases that are predominantly prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions, affecting public health globally. Dengue is caused by multiple antigenically different Dengue virus (DENV) serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV 4) in the Flaviviridae family and Chikungunya (CHIKV) in the Togaviridae family. The overlapping clinical presentation of both diseases, particularly in early infection, complicates timely and differential diagnosis. In India, diagnosis primarily relies on rapid antigen-based or ELISA-based tests, which are prone to false negatives, leading to underreported disease burden. In resource-limited settings, the absence of confirmatory diagnostics often leads to reliance on clinical symptoms and epidemiological data, increasing the risk of misdiagnosis and undetected co-infections.

METHODS

To address these diagnostic limitations, we developed DENCHIK, a multiplex, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assay for the simultaneous detection of DENV serotypes and CHIKV. Between July and December 2022, a total of 903 serum samples from febrile patients across 161 public health centers in Bengaluru were analyzed. The performance of the DENCHIK assay was compared with ELISA-based tests (NS1 antigen and IgM antibody detection) and two commercially available qRT-PCR assays for DENV and CHIKV.

FINDINGS

Using the DENCHIK assay, 36% of samples were tested positive for DENV, 17% for CHIKV and 8% were tested positive for co-infections. In contrast, ELISA detected 29.90% of DENV and 22.92% of CHIKV infections. We observed a 9% DENV infection using NS1 ELISA and 24% by IgM ELISA, highlighting discrepancies between antigen-and antibody-based tests. Among DENV serotypes, DENV-1 was the most prevalent serotype followed by DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4. A seasonal increase in cases was observed from June to September 2022, coinciding with the monsoon season. No significant difference in prevalence was noted across gender and age groups. DENCHIK demonstrated a sensitivity of 62.82% and specificity of 66.45% for DENV detection compared to NS1 ELISA. When evaluated against commercial qRT-PCR assays, DENCHIK exhibited superior performance with 99% sensitivity and 98% specificity for DENV detection. For CHIKV, DENCHIK showed 26% sensitivity, and 86% specificity compared to IgM ELISA, while achieving 98% sensitivity and specificity relative to commercial qRT-PCR assays.

CONCLUSION

DENCHIK assay successfully enabled simultaneous amplification of all four DENV serotypes and Chikungunya, from clinical samples. DENCHIK assay detected 7.6% additional Dengue infections and 6.65% fewer Chikungunya infections in clinical samples, demonstrating enhanced diagnostic accuracy. With higher sensitivity and specificity, DENCHIK allows for early detection from day one of symptom onset, improving the estimation of true disease prevalence and mitigating misdiagnosis associated with ELISA-based methods. The integration and surveillance of molecular assays, such as DENCHIK, will enhance epidemiological monitoring of circulating DENV serotypes, CHIKV, and co-infections. These advancements will provide critical insights for public health authorities, enabling them to prioritize treatment, implement effective control measures, and mitigate the transmission of arboviral infections.