{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T09:11:12Z","timestamp":1791364272142,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,11]],"date-time":"2025-02-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1739232000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010269","name":"Wellcome Trust","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["225468\/Z\/22\/Z"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["225468\/Z\/22\/Z"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010269","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Global AMR Innovation Fund"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100020171","name":"Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100020171","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the Netherlands"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosglobalpublichealth.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLOS Glob Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Affordable, easy-to-use and rapid diagnostics may support a move away from syndromic management for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in resource-constrained settings. A lateral flow assay for <jats:italic>Neisseria gonorrhoeae<\/jats:italic> (NG-LFA) has shown high sensitivity and specificity (&gt;90%) in symptomatic individuals. We investigated the performance and acceptability of this assay as a screening tool for NG among pregnant women. This evaluation was embedded within a prospective study evaluating point-of-care STI screening in pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) in Harare, Zimbabwe. Participants were included regardless of symptom status, ANC visit number, or gestational age. Nurse-collected vaginal swabs were tested on-site using the NG-LFA and the Xpert CT\/NG assay (Xpert) (reference test). The implementation team members (n=4) were interviewed to assess acceptability and usability of NG-LFA. Of 912 participants, 4.8% (44\/912) self-reported presence of abnormal vaginal discharge. Xpert NG prevalence was 4.2% (38\/912); 81.6% (31\/38) of infections were asymptomatic. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value (NPV) of the NG-LFA were 65.8% (25\/38; 95% CI 48.6%\u201380.4%), 99.2% (867\/874; 95% CI 98.4\u201399.7%), 78.1% (25\/32; 95% CI 60.0-90.7%), and 98.5% (867\/880; 95% CI 97.5-99.2%). The NG-LFA was considered easy-to-use and interpret but discordant results led to issues of trust in the NG-LFA results. Among predominantly asymptomatic pregnant women, the NG-LFA had high specificity, but relatively low sensitivity meaning one in three cases of gonorrhoea were not detected. Further studies are warranted to assess the clinical performance and cost-effectiveness of the NG-LFA in other settings and populations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0003839","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,2,11]],"date-time":"2025-02-11T18:41:57Z","timestamp":1739299317000},"page":"e0003839","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pgph.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Evaluation of a novel point-of-care lateral flow assay screening for Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection among pregnant women in Zimbabwe"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"5","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6561-1353","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kevin","family":"Martin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3241-2512","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Ethel","family":"Dauya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1617-3603","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Chido","family":"Dziva Chikwari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9725-7931","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Constance R. 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