Status of diagnostics for three arbovirus infections in resource-limited settings

Climate change, travel, and urbanization contribute to increasing exposure to Zika, Dengue and Chikungunya. Lab-based diagnostics are required because of overlapping clinical presentations. Here we review the current diagnostic methods, and find them poorly adapted to point of care use in resource-limited settings: generally, serologic assays are hindered by cross-reactivity while molecular assays require laboratory conditions. We conclude that a differential diagnostic device is critically needed, requiring a simpler molecular assay kit that maintains high sensitivity and specificity.