Journal of Prevention and Infection Control Open Access

Rapid diagnostic tests - the troubling online market for unvalidated tests

8^th Edition of International Conference on Infectious Diseases

June 07-08, 2018 London, UK

Melissa Chowdhury

North Middlesex University Hospital, UK

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Prev Infect Cntrol

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are useful tools to diagnose a variety of infections. RDTs generally use a dipstick or cassette format, and results are usually given in 10 minutes. They are particularly advantageous in resource limited settings where they can be implemented easily at the point of care and provide results quickly. However the appeal of RDTs has led to an explosion of products on the market. Most are neither WHO prequalified nor registered with a stringent authority such as the US Food and Drugs Administration meaning their quality and efficacy cannot be assured. In order to quantify this problem, a search was performed of available RDTs for purchase for two common infectious diseases. Methodology: A web based search on leading search engines, using the following search terms: Dengue Rapid Diagnostic Kit, Dengue Test Kit, HIV Rapid Diagnostic Test Kit and HIV Test Kit. Selecting the first page of the search, I then checked them against the WHO prequalified list. Variables of interest were: whether
WHO prequalified or not, pharmaceutical supplier and country, validation data on website, validation data either on PubMed or Google scholar. Data was extracted in a standard format into a database. Findings: For dengue, 76 test kits were found, 1 appeared to be WHO prequalified. 37 test kits were found for HIV, 1 appeared to be WHO prequalified. Conclusion & Significance: These results show not only the availability but also the ease of purchasing RDTs that may have not been adequately tested. As a result, potentially less effective tests may be in use. In addition to causing patient harm through potential misdiagnosis, the purchase of tests that do not work properly are a waste of resources. Recommendations are made for greater awareness, research and centralized testing systems to address this important issue. Email:melissachowdhury@gmail.com