Immunofluorescence and counter immunoelectrophoresis in the diagnosis of kala-azar.
Techniques of indirect immunofluorescence (IF) and counter current immunoelectrophoresis (CIEP) were employed and compared for the diagnosis of kala-azar among children in Fars Province of Iran. It is suggested that the diagnostic titre for kala-azar by immuno fluorescence is over 1 in 64. In fact a majority of the cases had a titre of more than 1 in 256. CIEP using soluble antigens prepared form the promastigote form of Leishmania donovani, was also applied to sera from patients with systemic leishmaniasis and other diseases. The CIEP test correlated well with the indirect immunofluorescent test. It is therefore suggested that CIEP, which is a rapid and less sophisticated test, can be applied for the diagnosis of kala-azar cases and epidemiological surveys.
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003378:Counterimmunoelectrophoresis; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D007122:Immunoelectrophoresis; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis*