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Measurement of serum antibodies against native Leishmania gp63 distinguishes between ongoing and previous L. donovani infection
Author(s) -
OKONG'OODERA ELIZABETH A.,
KURTZHALS JØRGEN A. L.,
HEY ADAM S.,
KHARAZMI ARSALAN
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
apmis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0903-4641
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1993.tb00158.x
Subject(s) - serology , antibody , visceral leishmaniasis , leishmania donovani , leishmaniasis , leishmania , immunology , virology , medicine , malaria , leishmania major , biology , parasite hosting , world wide web , computer science
An enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using native gp63 for detection of serum antibodies to Leishmania was evaluated. The test identified antibodies in sera from 16 of 16 visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients and 9 of 12 sera from patients with Trypanosoma brucei infection. In comparison, sera from 80 Danish controls and 40 control donors from a malaria endemic area of Ghana without known exposure to Leishmania were negative, as were sera from 12 Kenyan malaria patients and 9 schistosomiasis patients. After cure of VL, sera rapidly became negative. Only 1 of 7, 1 of 21, and 1 of 27 sera from cured VL patients 6–12 months, 1–2 years and >2 years after cure were positive. Thus, in contrast to other serological tests for VL, the gp63 ELISA seems to distinguish an ongoing from a past infection. This might prove useful both for diagnostic and epidemiological purposes.