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2010•Tropical Medicine & International HealthOpen access

Serological markers for Leishmania donovani infection in Nepal: agreement between direct agglutination test and rK39 ELISA

Basudha Khanal, Suman Rijal, Bart Ostyn, Albert Picado, Kamlesh Gidwani, Joris Menten, DIANE JACQUET, Veerle Lejon, François Chappuis, Marleen Boelaert

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Abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important vector-borne disease caused by Leishmania donovani in the Indian subcontinent. The actual incidence and role of asymptomatic infections in the region are not wellknown. We used the direct agglutination test (DAT) and the rK39 ELISA as L. donovani infection markers in 10 VL endemic villages in Nepal. DAT titre distribution showed two subgroups in the population (infected and non-infected individuals), while rK39 did not. The agreement between both tests was moderate (j = 0.53; 95% CI 0.49–0.57). More research is needed to develop validated markers for Leishmania infection.

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What this paper is about

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important vector-borne disease caused by Leishmania donovani in the Indian subcontinent. The actual incidence and role of asymptomatic infections in the region are not wellknown. We used the direct agglutination test (DAT) and the rK39 ELISA as L. donovani infection markers in 10 VL endemic villages in Nepal. DAT titre distribution showed two subgroups in the population (infected and non-infected individuals), while rK39 did not. The agreement between both tests was moderate (j = 0.53; 95% CI 0.49–0.57). More research is needed to develop validated markers for Leishmania infection.

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Available abstract

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an important vector-borne disease caused by Leishmania donovani in the Indian subcontinent. The actual incidence and role of asymptomatic infections in the region are not wellknown. We used the direct agglutination test (DAT) and the rK39 ELISA as L. donovani infection markers in 10 VL endemic villages in Nepal. DAT titre distribution showed two subgroups in the population (infected and non-infected individuals), while rK39 did not. The agreement between both tests was moderate (j = 0.53; 95% CI 0.49–0.57). More research is needed to develop validated markers for Leishmania infection.

Key concepts: Direct agglutination test, Leishmania donovani, Serology, Virology, Protozoal disease, Agglutination (biology), Immunology, Visceral leishmaniasis

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Serological markers for Leishmania donovani infection in Nepal: agreement between direct agglutination test and rK39 ELISA — Research Paper | ScholarLens