Performance of the SD Bioline rapid diagnostic test as a good alternative to the detection of human African trypanosomiasis in Cameroon

Background: Case detection is essential for the management of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), which is caused by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. Prior to parasitological confirmation, routine screening using the card agglutination test for trypanosomiasis (CATT) is essential. Recently, individual rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for the serodiagnosis of HAT have been developed. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the contribution of SD Bioline HAT to the serological screening of human African trypanosomiasis in Cameroonian foci.Methods. Between June 2014 and January 2015, blood samples were collected during surveys in the foci of Campo, Yokadouma, and Fontem. The sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of SD Bioline HAT were determined using the CATT as the gold standard for the detection of specific antibodies against Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. Results: A total of 88 samples were tested: 59.1% (n=52) in Campo, 31.8% (n=28) in Yokadouma, and 9.1% (n=8) in Fontem. There were 61.4% (n=54) males and 38.4% (n=34) females, and the average age was 35.4 19.0 years. In probed foci, the overall seroprevalence was 11.4% (95% confidence interval: 6.3-19.7) with the CATT method and 18.2% (95% confidence interval: 11.5-27.2%) with the SD Bioline HAT RDT method. The SD Bioline HAT's Se and Sp were 80.0% and 89.7%, respectively. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the overall performance of the SD Bioline HAT was comparable to that of the CATT, with high specificity in the serological detection of HAT.