The rK39 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was compared with the direct agglutination test (DAT) for Leishmania donovani infection in the Sudan. rK39 ELISA proved more sensitive than DAT in diagnosis of kala-azar (93 and 80%, respectively); both tests may remain positive up to 24 months after treatment. For patients with post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis and individuals with subclinic...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine whether anti-rK39 antibodies were diagnostic markers for visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) and to evaluate the correlation between age and gender in disease occurrence in Iraqi patients. In addition, it aimed to evaluate the correlation between thyroid hormones, i.e., thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxine (T4) and anti-r...

BACKGROUND Rapid diagnostic test using rk39 antigen is widely used for visceral leishmaniasis. However it detects anti-rk39 antibodies in 20-32% of endemic healthy individuals. In search for a better biomarker of infection, we identified a protein of molecular weight 70 kDa (BHUP1), specifically recognized by sera of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients. METHODS The protein was cloned as His-...

Background: This study was designed for comparative evaluation of two relatively newer recombinant hydrophilic antigens, rK9 and rK26 of Leishmania chagasi along with rK39 (a 39-aminoacid-repetitive immunodominant B-cell epitope of kinesin-related antigen from L. chagasi) and crude soluble antigen (CSA) for the serodiagnosis of Indian visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients by quantitative ELISA. ...

BACKGROUND Antibody-detecting rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) against rK39 are available to aid in the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Although these rK39 RDTs have been developed, validated and approved for use with serum, they are universally performed using whole blood. It was therefore necessary to determine whether this RDT is as sensitive on whole blood as on serum. METHOD AND P...

We compared an rK39 dipstick rapid test (Amrad ICT, Australia) with a direct agglutination test (DAT) and splenic aspirate for the diagnosis of kala-azar in 77 patients. The study was carried out under field conditions in an endemic area of north-east Sudan. The sensitivity of the rK39 test compared with splenic aspiration was 92% (46/50), the specificity 59% (16/27), and the positive predictiv...

The rK39 test is a serologic assay for the rapid diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL). Serum from a North American cohort of 59 otherwise asymptomatic soldiers with cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) was tested with the rK39 dipstick and ELISA assays, and 10.2% and 28.8% had positive results, respectively. CL is associated with a reactive rK39 assay result in some patients without clinical eviden...

BACKGROUND Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), caused by infection with Leishmania donovani complex, remains a major public health problem in endemic regions of South Asia, East Africa, and Brazil. If untreated, symptomatic VL is usually fatal. Rapid field diagnosis relies principally on demonstration of anti-Leishmania antibodies in clinically suspect cases. The rK39 immunochromatographic rapid diagn...

INTRODUCTION Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) may improve the early detection of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), but their real-world performance requires additional study. Therefore, we evaluated the performance of an rK39-based RDT (Kalazar Detect™) for the detection of VL in an endemic, large urban area. METHODS Data were collected from a registry of rK39 RDT performed at 11 emergency care units...

Five serological tests for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) were compared: a direct agglutination test (DAT) based on freeze-dried antigen (DAT-fd); a locally produced DAT (DAT-LPC); an IgG ELISA against rK39 (ELISA-rK39); an IgG ELISA for Leishmania chagasi (ELISA-L. chagasi); and an IgG IFAT against L. chagasi. Serum samples from 88 patients with VL, 20 non-infected individuals an...