Sla-Elisa: A Comparison With Dat & Rk39 Elisa For Identification Of Seroconverters

Background: The most important drawbacks in visceral leishmaniasis (VL) population studies are the difficulty of diagnosing asymptomatic carriers. The aim of this study, conducted in a rural area of Muzaffarpur District Bihar, India was to evaluate the performance of serology to identify asymptomatic VL infection in participants selected from a TMRC cohort area. Methods & Materials: Blood samples on filter paper were collected from 437 (seroconverters and controls) cohort participants. Samples were tested by ELISA using two different antigens: Soluble Leishmania antigens (SLA), and rK39 recombinant protein and DAT (Direct agglutination Test). Results: When SLA ELISA compared with both rK39 ELISA and DAT showed SLA ELISA was positive in all subjects who were positive with both DAT & rk39 ELISA. SLA ELISA also detects infection in those who are negative with both tests DAT and rk39 ELISA. Conclusion: For the diagnosis of asymptomatic infection there is no need to run both serological (DAT and rK39 ELISA) test. We also found seropositive samples from the control group might be we missed some seropositive samples with these serological (rK39 ELISA and DAT) tests so SLA ELISA could be used as marker of Infection.