title: Comparison of serological and parasitological methods for cutaneous leishmaniasis diagnosis in the state of Paraná, Brazil.
abstract: We evaluated the effectiveness of serological and parasitological methods for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) diagnosis in patients from the central region of Paraná state, southern Brazil. Five groups were compared: clinical diagnosis, parasitological diagnosis, communicants, inhabitants of a non-endemic area and carriers of other etiologies. Two antigens were prepared from promastigotes of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis and Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis for indirect immunofluorescence assay, ELISA and immunoblotting. The parasitological approaches detected 79.3% of the patients with a clinical diagnosis; the parasites were identified by PCR as L. (V.) braziliensis. Serological methods showed 95% sensitivity for homologous antigens. Immunoblotting revealed specific proteins for diagnosis of CL and detected 96.6% of the patients when L. (V.) braziliensis was used as an antigen, and 83.3% with L. (L.) amazonensis. This study demonstrated the importance of differential diagnosis for leishmaniasis; the association of two or more indirect methods increased diagnosis sensitivity.
authors: Centro de Produção e Pesquisa de Imunobiológicos, SESA, Paraná, Brazil.
authors: Regiane
authors: R
authors: Szargiki
authors: Edilene Alcântara de
authors: EA
authors: Castro
authors: Ennio
authors: E
authors: Luz
authors: Wolodymir
authors: W
authors: Kowalthuk
authors: Angela Maria
authors: AM
authors: Machado
authors: Vanete
authors: V
authors: Thomaz-Soccol
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006801:Humans; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007892:Leishmania braziliensis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D007894:Leishmania mexicana / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016773:Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012882:Skin Tests