Fluorescent antibody titres after recovery from visceral leishmaniasis

Abstract

Following recovery from visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a proportion of cases in India develop post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL). During VL, the levels of specific antibody and of polyclonal IgG are high (WHO, 1984). It has been believed that failure of the antibody titre to fall may be an early indicator of relapse (Manson-Bahr and Bell, 1987). On the other hand, indirect immunofluorescent titres may persist for years after resolution of disease(Locksley, 1991). PKDL sera have been shown to contain specific antibodies but the titres are lower (Haldar et al., 1981). A study is in progress to find out whether persistence of specific antibody or the lack of it, following recovery from VL, has any relation to the development of PKDL.