Abstract
Visceral leishmaniasis, a life threatening protozoan parasitic disease, is mainly caused by Leishmania donovani complex and is prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, East Africa and Brazil. VL patients even after successful treatment might show other clinical revelations of skin called post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). Although there is substantial decline in the incidence of VL in some areas, the disease is still prevalent in most of the endemic regions with newer areas of infection being continuously reported
Highlights
Visceral leishmaniasis, a life threatening protozoan parasitic disease, is mainly caused by Leishmania donovani complex and is prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, East Africa and Brazil
Earlier we have reported the diagnostic importance of Leishmania membrane antigens (LAg) and its components through various techniques such as ELISA, immunoblot assay and strip test in the Indian subcontinent [13,14,15] and other parts of the world [16]
Further in the previous study we have identified this antigen as elongation factor1-α (EF1-α) through mass spectrometry [15]
Summary
A life threatening protozoan parasitic disease, is mainly caused by Leishmania donovani complex and is prevalent in the Indian subcontinent, East Africa and Brazil. Classical VL diagnosis relies on microscopic observation of the parasite from splenic and bone marrow aspirates [2,3]. For PKDL, slit-skin smear or biopsy specimens derived from skin lesions are examined for presence of the parasite [4,5]. Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a potentially devastating neglected tropical disease is a major health concern. Despite recent advances made in diagnosis of VL, an accurate and a reliable diagnostic biomarker is still needed
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