title: Evaluation of a rapid immunochromatographic dipstick kit for diagnosis of cholera emphasizes its outbreak utility.
abstract: We evaluated the Crystal VC, a commercially produced dipstick, for the rapid detection of Vibrio cholerae serotypes O1 and O139 directly from the stool samples of hospitalized diarrheal patients using the conventional bacteriological method as gold standard. The sensitivity and specificity of the dipsticks were about 92 and 73%, respectively. Introduction of the PCR-based method along with the classical bacteriological method as the gold standard for the evaluation of a kit may improve the sensitivity and specificity of the assay. The dipstick method requires minimal technical skill, and the test can be read in about 10 min. This dipstick test has the potential to act as an early warning system for cholera in many developing countries, especially during the start of an outbreak, which would ultimately lead to a decrease in the spread of the disease as well as the case fatality rate. Furthermore, the use of a rapid detection test will improve surveillance and thus reduce the burden of disease estimates, especially in remote settings.
authors.affiliation: Division of Bacteriology, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata, India.
authors.forename: Piyali
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
authors.forename: Santanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ghosh
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ramamurthy
authors.forename: Mihir K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Ranjan K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Nandy
authors.forename: Yoshifumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: G Balakrish
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Nair
authors.forename: Asish K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
mesh_terms: D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002771:Cholera / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007118:Immunoassay / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D041241:Vibrio cholerae O1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D041242:Vibrio cholerae O139 / Q000302:isolation & purification*