Archived dengue serum samples produced false-positive results in SARS-CoV-2 lateral flow-based rapid antibody tests. Issue 6 (10th June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nath, Himadri; Mallick, Abinash; Roy, Subrata; Sukla, Soumi; Basu, Keya; De, Abhishek; Biswas, Subhajit
• Is Part Of: Journal of medical microbiology. Volume 70:Issue 6(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-06-10
• Subjects: dengue virus -- SARS-CoV-2 -- COVID-19 -- false-positive -- antibody test -- cross-reactive -- strip test; Medical microbiology -- Periodicals; 616.9041
• DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.001369
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-2615

Abstract

Abstract : Co-endemicity of SARS-CoV-2 and dengue virus (DV) infection is becoming a matter of serious concern as it has been already reported that antibodies (Ab) elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection can produce false-positive results in dengue IgG and IgM rapid tests and vice versa . Here we communicate that five of thirteen DV antibody-positive serum samples from Kolkata, archived in 2017 (predating the COVID-19 outbreak), produced false-positive results in SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM lateral flow-based rapid tests. Our results emphasize the importance of implementing tests with higher specificity to conduct sero-surveillance for accurate estimation of SARS-CoV-2/DV prevalence in regions where both viruses now co-exist.