Evaluation of Immunochromatographic Rapid Test for Norovirus

DOI: 10.6525/TEB.201910_35(20).0002

Tsung-Ting Hsieh, Shu-Chun Chiu, Wan-Ting Liao, Chih-Tung Lu, Ting-Yo Kuo, Jih-Hui Lin*

2019 Vol.35 NO.20

Correspondence Author:  Jih-Hui Lin*

  • Center for Diagnostics and Vaccine Development, Centers for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan 

Abstract:

        Noroviruses are the major viral pathogen in domestic diarrhea outbreaks. About 40% of the diarrhea outbreaks were attributed to norovirus infection. Because of its high infectiousness, a rapid and accurate detection method is key to the control of norovirus outbreaks. In this study, we randomly selected 101 fecal samples from21 diarrhea outbreaks from January to June 2018 to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of RIDA® QUICK Norovirus test. The sensitivity of the rapid test was 67.2%, and the specificity was100%. Positive test results confirm the existence of norovirus in fecal samples, but negative test results still needs to be further confirmed by the real-time RT-PCR as the gold standard. Therefore, rapid tests provide a quick preliminary screening, but still cannot replace real-time RT-PCR in laboratories. In order to avoid false negative results that lead to the expansion of the epidemic, submitting the specimens to the laboratory for further confirmation as soon as possible is still necessary.