Giardia/cryptosporidium quik chek assay is more specific than quantitative polymerase chain reaction for rapid point-of-care diagnosis of cryptosporidiosis in infants in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background. Cryptosporidium is a major cause of childhood diarrhea. Current modes of cryptosporidiosis diagnosis involve procedures that are costly and require both a well-equipped laboratory and technical expertise. Therefore, a cost-effective, user-friendly, and rapid method for point-of-care detection of Cryptosporidium is desirable. Methods. A total of 832 diarrheal stool specimens collected from 200 children aged <2 years were tested by Giardia/ Cryptosporidium QUIK CHEK, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to compare the performance of the individual techniques. We also tested for the presence of other diarrheal pathogens in qPCR-positive samples with a TaqMan Array Card (TAC) to assess whether Cryptosporidium was the sole causative agent for the diarrheal episodes. Results. Of 832 samples, 4.4% were found positive for Cryptosporidium by QUIK CHEK, 3.6% by ELISA, and 8.8% by qPCR. Using TAC-attributed Cryptosporidium diarrhea as the gold standard, the sensitivities of QUIK CHEK, ELISA, and qPCR were 92.3%, 71.8%, and 100%, respectively; the specificities were 97.1%, 94.3%, and 0%, respectively. Analysis of the qPCR-positive and QUIK CHEK-negative samples by TAC identified other enteropathogens as more likely than Cryptosporidium to be the causative agents of diarrhea. Conclusions. QUIK CHEK was more sensitive and specific than ELISA. While qPCR detected Cryptosporidium in more samples than QUIK CHEK, most of these were instances of qPCR detecting small quantities of Cryptosporidium DNA in a diarrheal episode caused by another enteropathogen. We concluded that QUIK CHEK was comparable in sensitivity and superior in specificity to qPCR for the diagnosis of Cryptosporidium diarrhea.