Abstract
Background & objectives: Definitive diagnosis of kala-azar requires demonstration of parasites in tissue or bone marrow. In the present study, the diagnostic utility of rK-39 immunochromatographic test (ICT) strip for the diagnosis of kala-azar and post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL) at a tertiary care centre of Eastern India was done. Methods: The study was conducted from January 2011 to December 2011 on 100 suspected kala-azar and PKDL cases. Results: Of the 100 samples, 36 were positive by ICT; of which, 32 were diagnosed as kala-azar (25 males mainly in children of age group 0-20 yrs -(7)) and 4 as PKDL (all 4 males) The rest 64 controls included individuals with malignancies, haemolytic disorders, chronic liver diseases, etc. All had fever of duration ranging from <1 month to 1.5 yr (median 4.5 months). All PKDL patients gave past history of kala-azar and their slit skin test smears were microscopically positive for Leishman-Donovan (LD) bodies. The strip test was positive in all the cases of kala-azar and PKDL (sensitivity 100%) and negative in all control sera (specificity 100%).
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