Rapid and visual detection of dengue virus using recombinase polymerase amplification method combined with lateral flow dipstick.

Dengue virus (DENV), a member of the genus Flavivirus within the family Flaviviridae, is one of the most significant mosquito-borne viruses that causing dengue fever in human. A rapid diagnostic would be helpful to detect DENV infection in a timely manner. In the last decade, recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) technique has been experiencing rapid development and widely employed to detect various other pathogens. In present study, a reverse transcription RPA (RT-RPA) assay combined with lateral flow dipstick (LFD) was established for rapid detection of DENV. The assay could detect DENV-1, -2, -3 and -4. The minimal detection limit of the RT-RPA-LFD assay was 10 copies RNA molecules. The assay was DENV-specific since it had no non-specific reactions with other common human pathogens. The clinical performance of the RT-RPA assay was validated using 120 clinical samples. The coincidence rate between RT-RPA-LFD and qRT-PCR for the clinical samples was 100%, indicating the RT-RPA-LFD assay had good diagnostic performance on clinical samples. The RT-RPA-LFD assay required no sophisticated instrument, providing a possible solution for DENV diagnosis in recourse-limited settings where DENV infection is epidemic.