[Mediterranean leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum. Update on the utility of the IT-Leish and ID-Pagia leishmaniasis tests].

The purpose of this article is to update information about Mediterranean leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in man and about the canine reservoir. Special emphasis is placed on laboratory diagnosis tests for Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (MVL) in humans. In addition two rapid diagnostic tests for human leishmaniasis are compared based on indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot. Findings show that the overall sensitivity of the two tests in immunocompetent and immunodepressed patients ranged from 54% to 97%, a specificity of 97%, with positive predictive value ranging from 75% to 97% and a negative predictive value of around 95%. For diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis, positivity of these tests in one case out of 2 underscores the predictive value of a positive test.