Dengue Specific Immunoglobulin A Antibody is Present in Urine and Associated with Disease Severity

The kinetics of dengue virus (DENV)-specific IgA antibody in urine and the potential correlation with disease severity remain elusive. In this study, 262 serial urine samples from 78 laboratory-confirmed patients were assayed by a commercial immunoglobulin A (IgA) kit against DENV. All cases were classified into dengue fever (DF) and severe dengue (SD) according to the 2009 WHO/TDR guideline. The total positive rate of IgA in urine was 59%. DENV-specific IgA was detected in urine from day 2 to day 13 after the onset of illness in DF patients; While for SD patients, anti-DENV IgA could be detected till day 14. The positive rate of IgA in patients with secondary infection was higher than that in patients with primary infection. Importantly, during 4–7 days after the onset of illness, the IgA positive rate of SD patients was significantly higher than that of DF patients. Especially, the intensity of IgA signal in SD patients was obviously stronger than that in DF patient at the recovery stage. Overall, our results suggested that the existence of DENV-specific IgA antibodies in urine might be a warning sign for the severity of disease and its measurement might provide valuable guidance for proper patient management.