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Serological markers for Leishmania donovani infection in Nepal: agreement between direct agglutination test and rK39 ELISA
Author(s) -
Khanal Basudha,
Rijal Suman,
Ostyn Bart,
Picado Albert,
Gidwani Kamlesh,
Menten Joris,
Jacquet Diane,
Lejon Veerle,
Chappuis François,
Boelaert Marleen
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3156.2010.02631.x
Subject(s) - direct agglutination test , leishmania donovani , serology , virology , protozoal disease , agglutination (biology) , immunology , visceral leishmaniasis , leishmaniasis , medicine , malaria , antibody
Summary 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 well known. 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 (κ = 0.53; 95% CI 0.49–0.57). More research is needed to develop validated markers for Leishmania infection.