Integrated Serological Surveillance of Communicable Diseases using the Multiplex Bead Assay in the Region of the Americas: Report of the Fourth Regional Meeting

Abstract

This document presents a summary of the topics discussed at the Fourth Regional Meeting on Integrated Serological Surveillance of Communicable Diseases using the Multiple Bead Assay (MBA) in the Region of the Americas. This initiative, which began in 2016, is a partnership between countries in the Region, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pan American Health Organization for the use of integrated serosurveillance as a tool to complement epidemiological surveillance systems. Serovigilance complements conventional epidemiological surveillance by providing information on exposure to pathogens that are not identified through routine surveillance and that may be circulating or re-emerging in populations. Its implementation in the countries of the Region of the Americas has made it possible to characterize the immunity profiles of communicable diseases for which no reference information was available or where the available information was not updated (e.g., for diseases such as strongyloidiasis, taeniasis and cysticercosis, and yaws). MBA allows up to 50, 100 or 500 antigens to be detected simultaneously, depending on the instrument used, with a very small sample volume (<1 µL). This system allows the creation of assays tailored to the public health needs of each program, with a very low incremental cost for adding antigens. The fourth meeting, held in March 2023, discussed progress and lessons learned in the use of integrated serosurveillance of communicable diseases using the multiple bead assay platform in the Region of the Americas. The meeting also reviewed and agreed on actions to employ MBA to improve programmatic public health decisions.