title: Comparison of recombinant A2-ELISA with rKE16 dipstick and direct agglutination tests for diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in dogs in Northwestern Iran.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Various methods are used for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), such as microscopic examination, culture and inoculation of laboratory animals; however, serological assays are commonly used for the detection of antibodies in serum samples with a wide range of specificity and sensitivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  The purpose of this study was to compare three serological methods, including rA2-ELISA, the recombinant KE16 (rKE16) dipstick test and the direct agglutination test (DAT), for the detection of antibodies against VL antigens. The assays utilized 350 statistically based random serum samples from domestic dogs with clinical symptoms as well as samples from asymptomatic and healthy dogs from rural and urban areas of the Meshkinshahr district, northwestern Iran.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Samples were assessed, and the following positive rates were obtained: 11.5% by rKE16, 26.9% by DAT and 49.8% by ELISA. The sensitivity among symptomatic dogs was 32.4% with rKE16, 100% with DAT and 52.9% with ELISA. Conversely, rA2-ELISA was less specific for asymptomatic dogs, at 46.5%, compared with DAT, at 88.9%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study recommends rA2-ELISA as a parallel assay combined with DAT to detect VL infection among dogs. Further evaluations should be performed to develop an inexpensive and reliable serologic test for the detection of Leishmania infantum among infected dogs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mahin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farahmand
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Khalaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Institute of Public Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Mehdi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mohebali
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ghader
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Khalili
authors.affiliation: Science and Research Branch of Kurdestan, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran.
authors.forename: Sanaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naderi
authors.affiliation: Islamic Azad University of Oloum Tahghighat, Amol, Iran.
authors.forename: Padina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghaffarinejad
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nahrevanian
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004285:Dogs; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D018314:Leishmania infantum / Q000276:immunology*; D007898:Leishmaniasis, Visceral / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan