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Assessment of the Performance of Combining Rapid Immunochromatographic and Latex Agglutination Tests in the Diagnosis of Human Toxoplasmosis in Cameroon

Received: 25 March 2022     Accepted: 11 April 2022     Published: 28 April 2022
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Abstract

Background: The consequences of Toxoplasmosis could be devastating in individuals with a suppressed immune system such as pregnant women and their unborn children. Early detection during pregnancy could prevent the development of congenital deformities. However, the reference test for Toxoplasmosis diagnosis, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), is expensive and not feasible in peripheral settings in poor countries. Objective: We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy/performance of the cheaper and user-friendly combination of rapid Immunochromatographic assay and the latex agglutination tests as an alternative to ELISA. Methods: Blood samples from 83 participants recruited from two health facilities in Yaounde, Cameroon were tested using rapid Immunochromatographic assay (rapid diagnostic test RDT), latex agglutination (LA) tests, and ELISA as reference. Measures of diagnostic performance were determined. Results: Mean age of participants was 28.7±.6.7 years. The Sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and accuracy were respectively 78.0%, 84.9%, 88.6%, 71.8% and 80.7% for RDTs; respectively 94.0%, 72.7%, 83.9%, 88.9% and 85.5% for LA test. The combination of the two tests had a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of respectively 94.0%, 66.7%, 81.0%, 88.0%, and 83.1% respectively. Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of the combination of RDT and LA tests met three of the four World Health Organization standards. Albeit the relatively low specificity, the high sensitivity of the combination of both tests warrants their sequential use for the screening of human toxoplasmosis in remote areas with limited ELISA capacity.

Published in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Volume 7, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11
Page(s) 18-24
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Toxoplasma gondii, ELISA, Rapid Immuno Chromatographic Assay, Latex Agglutination Test, Diagnostic Accuracy

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Palmer Masumbe Netongo, Fuh Roger Neba, Severin Donald Kamdem, Patrice Takam Soh, Deguy D’or Luogbou Nzu, et al. (2022). Assessment of the Performance of Combining Rapid Immunochromatographic and Latex Agglutination Tests in the Diagnosis of Human Toxoplasmosis in Cameroon. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 7(2), 18-24. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11

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    ACS Style

    Palmer Masumbe Netongo; Fuh Roger Neba; Severin Donald Kamdem; Patrice Takam Soh; Deguy D’or Luogbou Nzu, et al. Assessment of the Performance of Combining Rapid Immunochromatographic and Latex Agglutination Tests in the Diagnosis of Human Toxoplasmosis in Cameroon. Biochem. Mol. Biol. 2022, 7(2), 18-24. doi: 10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11

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    AMA Style

    Palmer Masumbe Netongo, Fuh Roger Neba, Severin Donald Kamdem, Patrice Takam Soh, Deguy D’or Luogbou Nzu, et al. Assessment of the Performance of Combining Rapid Immunochromatographic and Latex Agglutination Tests in the Diagnosis of Human Toxoplasmosis in Cameroon. Biochem Mol Biol. 2022;7(2):18-24. doi: 10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11,
      author = {Palmer Masumbe Netongo and Fuh Roger Neba and Severin Donald Kamdem and Patrice Takam Soh and Deguy D’or Luogbou Nzu and Irene Ane Anyangwe},
      title = {Assessment of the Performance of Combining Rapid Immunochromatographic and Latex Agglutination Tests in the Diagnosis of Human Toxoplasmosis in Cameroon},
      journal = {Biochemistry and Molecular Biology},
      volume = {7},
      number = {2},
      pages = {18-24},
      doi = {10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.bmb.20220702.11},
      abstract = {Background: The consequences of Toxoplasmosis could be devastating in individuals with a suppressed immune system such as pregnant women and their unborn children. Early detection during pregnancy could prevent the development of congenital deformities. However, the reference test for Toxoplasmosis diagnosis, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), is expensive and not feasible in peripheral settings in poor countries. Objective: We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy/performance of the cheaper and user-friendly combination of rapid Immunochromatographic assay and the latex agglutination tests as an alternative to ELISA. Methods: Blood samples from 83 participants recruited from two health facilities in Yaounde, Cameroon were tested using rapid Immunochromatographic assay (rapid diagnostic test RDT), latex agglutination (LA) tests, and ELISA as reference. Measures of diagnostic performance were determined. Results: Mean age of participants was 28.7±.6.7 years. The Sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and accuracy were respectively 78.0%, 84.9%, 88.6%, 71.8% and 80.7% for RDTs; respectively 94.0%, 72.7%, 83.9%, 88.9% and 85.5% for LA test. The combination of the two tests had a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of respectively 94.0%, 66.7%, 81.0%, 88.0%, and 83.1% respectively. Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of the combination of RDT and LA tests met three of the four World Health Organization standards. Albeit the relatively low specificity, the high sensitivity of the combination of both tests warrants their sequential use for the screening of human toxoplasmosis in remote areas with limited ELISA capacity.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Assessment of the Performance of Combining Rapid Immunochromatographic and Latex Agglutination Tests in the Diagnosis of Human Toxoplasmosis in Cameroon
    AU  - Palmer Masumbe Netongo
    AU  - Fuh Roger Neba
    AU  - Severin Donald Kamdem
    AU  - Patrice Takam Soh
    AU  - Deguy D’or Luogbou Nzu
    AU  - Irene Ane Anyangwe
    Y1  - 2022/04/28
    PY  - 2022
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11
    T2  - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    JF  - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    JO  - Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    SP  - 18
    EP  - 24
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-5048
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.bmb.20220702.11
    AB  - Background: The consequences of Toxoplasmosis could be devastating in individuals with a suppressed immune system such as pregnant women and their unborn children. Early detection during pregnancy could prevent the development of congenital deformities. However, the reference test for Toxoplasmosis diagnosis, Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), is expensive and not feasible in peripheral settings in poor countries. Objective: We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy/performance of the cheaper and user-friendly combination of rapid Immunochromatographic assay and the latex agglutination tests as an alternative to ELISA. Methods: Blood samples from 83 participants recruited from two health facilities in Yaounde, Cameroon were tested using rapid Immunochromatographic assay (rapid diagnostic test RDT), latex agglutination (LA) tests, and ELISA as reference. Measures of diagnostic performance were determined. Results: Mean age of participants was 28.7±.6.7 years. The Sensitivity, specificity, Positive Predictive Value (PPV), Negative Predictive Value (NPV) and accuracy were respectively 78.0%, 84.9%, 88.6%, 71.8% and 80.7% for RDTs; respectively 94.0%, 72.7%, 83.9%, 88.9% and 85.5% for LA test. The combination of the two tests had a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of respectively 94.0%, 66.7%, 81.0%, 88.0%, and 83.1% respectively. Conclusion: The diagnostic performance of the combination of RDT and LA tests met three of the four World Health Organization standards. Albeit the relatively low specificity, the high sensitivity of the combination of both tests warrants their sequential use for the screening of human toxoplasmosis in remote areas with limited ELISA capacity.
    VL  - 7
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Molecular Diagnostics Research Group, Biotechnology Centre-University of Yaounde I (BTC-UY-I), Yaounde, Cameroon

  • Molecular Diagnostics Research Group, Biotechnology Centre-University of Yaounde I (BTC-UY-I), Yaounde, Cameroon

  • Molecular Diagnostics Research Group, Biotechnology Centre-University of Yaounde I (BTC-UY-I), Yaounde, Cameroon

  • Department of Mathematics, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon

  • Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Bamenda (Uba), Bamenda, Cameroon

  • School of Science, Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint, USA

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