title: Serogrouping of non-interpretable Neisseria meningitidis carriage strains, using rapid diagnostic tests.
abstract: Large-scale Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) carriage studies in Africa are hampered by the lack of easy-to-perform and reliable methods for serogrouping strains that are largely polyagglutinable or autoagglutinable isolates using the conventional agglutination method. We tested the recently developed duplex rapid diagnostic tests (RDT1 Nm A and Y/W135, RDT2 Nm C and Y) for the serogrouping of 55 non-interpretable carriage strains. Thirteen (23.6%) could be serogrouped, of which nine were serogroup W135. Rapid diagnostic tests are a useful and efficient tool for the identification and serogrouping of Nm for carriage studies.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche Médicale et Sanitaire (CERMES), YN034, BP 10887, Niamey, Niger. amina@cermes.org
authors.forename: Amina Amadou
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hamidou
authors.forename: Saacou
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Djibo
authors.forename: Ali Elhadj
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Mamane
authors.forename: Amadou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moussa
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chanteau
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008585:Meningitis, Meningococcal / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology*; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012703:Serotyping / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic