Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-test

Abstract Background Early detection of dengue fever is pivotal to help differentiate against other febrile illnesses, especially in the dengue-endemic regions. Currently, febrile patients would have to go to the healthcare facility to get tested for dengue. A diagnostic approach that empowers febril...

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Main Authors: Nurfatihah Zulkifli, Naim Che-Kamaruddin, Atiqah Hazan, Tan Kim-Kee, Sivalingam Rajagopal, Sazaly AbuBakar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-02-01
Series:Tropical Medicine and Health
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-025-00705-9
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author Nurfatihah Zulkifli
Naim Che-Kamaruddin
Atiqah Hazan
Tan Kim-Kee
Sivalingam Rajagopal
Sazaly AbuBakar
author_facet Nurfatihah Zulkifli
Naim Che-Kamaruddin
Atiqah Hazan
Tan Kim-Kee
Sivalingam Rajagopal
Sazaly AbuBakar
author_sort Nurfatihah Zulkifli
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Early detection of dengue fever is pivotal to help differentiate against other febrile illnesses, especially in the dengue-endemic regions. Currently, febrile patients would have to go to the healthcare facility to get tested for dengue. A diagnostic approach that empowers febrile persons to perform their own tests is needed. Here, we evaluated the utility and the usability of the dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic test and whether it could be accepted as a home self-test. A lateral flow immunochromatography test (ICT) using DENV NS1 was converted to a possible self-test kit by providing the kit with a test device, an alcohol swab, a lancet, a disposable dropper, an assay buffer, and a test manual. Methods Twenty volunteers were recruited for this study. The participants performed the self-test under the observation of trained observers who recorded if any procedural error was committed. The results of each test were interpreted by the participants using a given interpretation table. Results Ninety-five percent (95%) of the study participants found the instruction manual was easy to follow and 70% felt the test kit was easy to use. Additionally, 80% of the participants successfully obtained the expected results. A majority (80%) would consider using the test kit if needed and would recommend it to family members and friends. Seventy percent (70%) of the participants, most of whom with monthly income of less than USD417, were willing to pay less than USD2 for the test kit. Conclusion Findings from the study suggested that a self-test diagnostic for dengue fever is highly acceptable and, hence, could be a viable approach for the early detection of the infection. Trial registration MRECID.NO: 2022628-11345.
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spelling doaj-art-e204e64647a84b9e97a1288b2d63dc4e2025-08-20T02:01:40ZengBMCTropical Medicine and Health1349-41472025-02-015311910.1186/s41182-025-00705-9Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-testNurfatihah Zulkifli0Naim Che-Kamaruddin1Atiqah Hazan2Tan Kim-Kee3Sivalingam Rajagopal4Sazaly AbuBakar5Tropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Level 2, High Impact Research (HIR) Building, Universiti MalayaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Level 2, High Impact Research (HIR) Building, Universiti MalayaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Level 2, High Impact Research (HIR) Building, Universiti MalayaTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Level 2, High Impact Research (HIR) Building, Universiti MalayaAccobiotech Sdn. Bhd. Industrial ParkTropical Infectious Diseases Research and Education Centre (TIDREC), Level 2, High Impact Research (HIR) Building, Universiti MalayaAbstract Background Early detection of dengue fever is pivotal to help differentiate against other febrile illnesses, especially in the dengue-endemic regions. Currently, febrile patients would have to go to the healthcare facility to get tested for dengue. A diagnostic approach that empowers febrile persons to perform their own tests is needed. Here, we evaluated the utility and the usability of the dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic test and whether it could be accepted as a home self-test. A lateral flow immunochromatography test (ICT) using DENV NS1 was converted to a possible self-test kit by providing the kit with a test device, an alcohol swab, a lancet, a disposable dropper, an assay buffer, and a test manual. Methods Twenty volunteers were recruited for this study. The participants performed the self-test under the observation of trained observers who recorded if any procedural error was committed. The results of each test were interpreted by the participants using a given interpretation table. Results Ninety-five percent (95%) of the study participants found the instruction manual was easy to follow and 70% felt the test kit was easy to use. Additionally, 80% of the participants successfully obtained the expected results. A majority (80%) would consider using the test kit if needed and would recommend it to family members and friends. Seventy percent (70%) of the participants, most of whom with monthly income of less than USD417, were willing to pay less than USD2 for the test kit. Conclusion Findings from the study suggested that a self-test diagnostic for dengue fever is highly acceptable and, hence, could be a viable approach for the early detection of the infection. Trial registration MRECID.NO: 2022628-11345.https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-025-00705-9Infectious diseasesArbovirusesDengue virusNS1Self-testUtility
spellingShingle Nurfatihah Zulkifli
Naim Che-Kamaruddin
Atiqah Hazan
Tan Kim-Kee
Sivalingam Rajagopal
Sazaly AbuBakar
Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-test
Tropical Medicine and Health
Infectious diseases
Arboviruses
Dengue virus
NS1
Self-test
Utility
title Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-test
title_full Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-test
title_fullStr Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-test
title_full_unstemmed Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-test
title_short Utility and usability of a dengue NS1 rapid diagnostic as a self-test
title_sort utility and usability of a dengue ns1 rapid diagnostic as a self test
topic Infectious diseases
Arboviruses
Dengue virus
NS1
Self-test
Utility
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s41182-025-00705-9
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