Diagnosis of Visceral Leishmaniasis in an Elimination Setting: A Validation Study of the Diagnostic Algorithm in India.

ABSTRACT: Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is on the verge of elimination on the Indian subcontinent. Nonetheless, the currently low VL-incidence setting brings along new challenges, one of which is the validity of the diagnostic algorithm, based on a combination of suggestive clinical symptoms in combination with a positive rK39 Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT). With this study, we aimed to assess the positive predictive value of the diagnostic algorithm in the current low-endemic setting in India by re-assessing newly diagnosed VL patients with a qPCR analysis on venous blood as the reference test. In addition, we evaluated the specificity of the rK39 RDT by testing non-VL cases with the rK39 RDT. Participants were recruited in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India. VL patients diagnosed based on the diagnostic al

SUBMITTER: Cloots K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8947297 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature