title: Serological markers for leishmania donovani infection in Nepal: Agreement between direct agglutination test and rK39 ELISA.
abstract: 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 wellknown. 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 (j = 0.53; 95% CI 0.49–0.57). More research is needed to develop validated markers for Leishmania infection.
authors: B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal.
authors: Basudha
authors: B
authors: Khanal
authors: Suman
authors: S
authors: Rijal
authors: Bart
authors: B
authors: Ostyn
authors: Albert
authors: A
authors: Picado
authors: Kamlesh
authors: K
authors: Gidwani
authors: Joris
authors: J
authors: Menten
authors: Diane
authors: D
authors: Jacquet
authors: Veerle
authors: V
authors: Lejon
authors: Francois
authors: F
authors: Chappuis
authors: Marleen
authors: M
authors: Boelaert
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis*; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D058345:Asymptomatic Infections; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007893:Leishmania donovani / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D009390:Nepal; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic