Evaluation of DPP® Typhoid Assay (Chembio Diagnostic System, Inc) for the Diagnosis of Typhoid From Well Characterized Serum Sample.

Typhoid is an acute febrile illness caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi). Annually, an estimated 11-21 million people become infected with typhoid fever and 128000-161000 people die from the disease . It is commonly transmitted through consumption of contaminated food or water. Low and middle-income countries and areas with poor access to safe water, food and sanitation are at higher risk of infection.

Blood and bone marrow culture is considered as the mainstay for laboratory confirmation of typhoid. However, it is expensive, requires specific laboratory equipment and technical expertise and takes longer time to generate results. Several RDTs and Widal test are available which do not require specialized laboratory and well-trained staff but lack sensitivity and specificity. Several studies have been done for identification of promising antigens that can be used to develop an accurate serodiagnostic assay. S. Typhi lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and hemolysin E (HlyE) have been identified as top candidate antigens by several studies to differentiate acute typhoid patients from healthy individuals. HlyE is a pore-forming toxin that affects bacterial growth within human macrophages and contributes to the cytotoxicity and invasion of epithelial cells.

Dual Path Platform (DPP) Typhoid Assay of Chembio is a point-of-care (POC) immunochromatographic technology which has the capability of measuring IgA response in blood, plasma and serum to both LPS and HlyE. A previous study done on this POC showed promising sensitivity and specificity to diagnose typhoid.Thus, the current study aims to assess the sensitivity and specificity of DPP ® Typhoid Assay using blood culture as the reference point.