Assessment of a rapid immunochromatographic test as potential tool for strongyloidiasis diagnosis using samples from an endemic area in Brazil.

Despite the inclusion of strongyloidiasis as a neglected tropical disease and the mortality of the hyperinfection and disseminated forms of this disease, accurate diagnostic tools are still needed. This study evaluated SsRapid® as a candidate for a rapid diagnostic test for strongyloidiasis using well-characterized serum samples from an endemic area in Brazil. SsRapid®, a prototype immunochromatographic test that detects IgG4 anti-S. stercoralis, specifically using the recombinant antigen NIE SsRapid® was performed using 140 samples from individuals with confirmed strongyloidiasis, other parasitic diseases, or healthy/asymptomatic. Diagnostic parameters of sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR-) were calculated. The sensitivity in samples from strongyloidiasis patients was 90 %, among the samples from patients with other parasitic diseases positivity was 17.5 % and 15 % in healthy individuals. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were 5.56 and 0.12, respectively and specificity 83.3 %. SsRapid® proved to be a viable, feasibile and cost-effective tool for screening and diagnosing strongyloidiasis subsidizing actions to combat the disease.