Performance of plague rapid diagnostic test compared to bacteriology: a retrospective analysis of the data collected in Madagascar
- PMID:32000692
- PMCID: PMC6993518
- DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-4812-7
Performance of plague rapid diagnostic test compared to bacteriology: a retrospective analysis of the data collected in Madagascar
Abstract
Background: Plague is a highly fatal disease caused by Yersinia pestis. Late diagnosis hampers disease outcome and effectiveness of control measures, induces death and disease spread. Advance on its diagnosis was the use of lateral flow rapid diagnostic test (RDT).
Methods: We assessed the performance of the plague RDT based on Y. pestis F1 antigen detection more than 15 years after its deployment in Madagascar. We compared the RDT with bacteriological culture results, using data from plague notified cases collected during the periods for which both tests were performed independently and systematically.
Results: Used with bubonic plague (BP) patient samples, RDTs had a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI: 99.7-100%), a specificity of 67% (95% CI: 64-70%) with a good agreement between bacteriology and RDT results (86%; κ = 0.70, 95% CI 0.67-0.73). For pneumonic plague (PP), RDT had a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI: 91-100%) and a specificity of 59% (95% CI: 49-68%) and concordance between the bacteriological and plague RDT results was moderate (70%; κ = 0.43, 95% CI 0.32-0.55). Analysis focusing on the 2017-2018 plague season including the unprecedented epidemic of PP showed that RDT used on BP samples still had a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI: 85-100%) and a specificity of 82% (95% CI: 48-98%) with a very good agreement with bacteriology 94% (κ = 0.86, 95% CI 0.67-1); for PP samples, concordance between the bacteriological and plague RDT results was poor (61%; κ = - 0.03, 95% CI -0.17 - 0.10).
Conclusions: RDT performance appeared to be similar for the diagnosis of BP and PP except during the 2017 PP epidemic where RDT performance was low. This RDT, with its good sensitivity on both plague clinical forms during a normal plague season, remained a potential test for alert. Particularly for BP, it may be of great value in the decision process for the initiation of therapy. However, for PP, RDT may deliver false negative results due to inconsistent sample quality. Plague diagnosis could be improved through the development of next generation of RDTs.
Keywords: Bacteriological culture, rapid diagnostic test, test performance; Plague; Yersinia pestis.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Similar articles
- Development and testing of a rapid diagnostic test for bubonic and pneumonic plague.Chanteau S, Rahalison L, Ralafiarisoa L, Foulon J, Ratsitorahina M, Ratsifasoamanana L, Carniel E, Nato F.Chanteau S, et al.Lancet. 2003 Jan 18;361(9353):211-6. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(03)12270-2.Lancet. 2003.PMID:12547544
- Short- and long-term humoral immune response against Yersinia pestis in plague patients, Madagascar.Andrianaivoarimanana V, Iharisoa AL, Rahalison L, Ralimanantsoa ML, Ratsitorahina M, Rakotonanahary RJL, Carniel E, Demeure C, Rajerison M.Andrianaivoarimanana V, et al.BMC Infect Dis. 2020 Nov 10;20(1):822. doi: 10.1186/s12879-020-05565-8.BMC Infect Dis. 2020.PMID:33172393Free PMC article.
- Rapid diagnostic tests for plague.Jullien S, Dissanayake HA, Chaplin M.Jullien S, et al.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Jun 26;6(6):CD013459. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD013459.pub2.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020.PMID:32597510Free PMC article.
- [The plague: An overview and hot topics].Galy A, Loubet P, Peiffer-Smadja N, Yazdanpanah Y.Galy A, et al.Rev Med Interne. 2018 Nov;39(11):863-868. doi: 10.1016/j.revmed.2018.03.019. Epub 2018 Apr 5.Rev Med Interne. 2018.PMID:29628173Review.French.
- Pneumonic Plague: The Darker Side of Yersinia pestis.Pechous RD, Sivaraman V, Stasulli NM, Goldman WE.Pechous RD, et al.Trends Microbiol. 2016 Mar;24(3):190-197. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.11.008. Epub 2015 Dec 14.Trends Microbiol. 2016.PMID:26698952Review.
Cited by
- Pulse-Controlled Amplification-A new powerful tool for on-site diagnostics under resource limited conditions.Müller K, Daßen S, Holowachuk S, Zwirglmaier K, Stehr J, Buersgens F, Ullerich L, Stoecker K.Müller K, et al.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021 Jan 29;15(1):e0009114. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0009114. eCollection 2021 Jan.PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2021.PMID:33513140Free PMC article.
- The State of the Art in Biodefense Related Bacterial Pathogen Detection Using Bacteriophages: How It Started and How It's Going.Sozhamannan S, Hofmann ER.Sozhamannan S, et al.Viruses. 2020 Dec 4;12(12):1393. doi: 10.3390/v12121393.Viruses. 2020.PMID:33291831Free PMC article.Review.
- Development and Validation of Ribosomal RNA-Targeted Reverse Transcription Real-Time PCR Assays for the Sensitive and Rapid Diagnostics of High Consequence Pathogens.Merold V, Silberreis K, Stoecker K.Merold V, et al.Front Microbiol. 2021 Oct 29;12:738868. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.738868. eCollection 2021.Front Microbiol. 2021.PMID:34777285Free PMC article.
- Epitope Binning of Novel Monoclonal Anti F1 and Anti LcrV Antibodies and Their Application in a Simple, Short, HTRF Test for Clinical Plague Detection.Mechaly A, Vitner EB, Levy Y, Gur D, Barlev-Gross M, Sittner A, Koren M, Levy H, Mamroud E, Fisher M.Mechaly A, et al.Pathogens. 2021 Mar 2;10(3):285. doi: 10.3390/pathogens10030285.Pathogens. 2021.PMID:33801490Free PMC article.
- Characterization of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from patients suspected of pulmonary or bubonic plague during the Madagascar epidemic in 2017.Rakotondrasoa A, Andrianonimiadana LM, Rahajandraibe S, Razafimahatratra S, Andrianaivoarimanana V, Rahelinirina S, Crucitti T, Brisse S, Jeannoda V, Rajerison M, Collard JM.Rakotondrasoa A, et al.Sci Rep. 2022 Apr 27;12(1):6871. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-10799-4.Sci Rep. 2022.PMID:35477743Free PMC article.
References
- World Health Organization International meeting on preventing and controlling plague: the old calamity still has a future. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2006;81:278–284. - PubMed
- Chanteau S In: Atlas de la Peste à Madagascar, Edition IRD/IP/AUF 2006 : 94p.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
Related information
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous