immune adherence hemagglutination: a new microimmunoassay for the serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT

This report describes immune adherence hemagglutination as a new micro-immunoassay for the serodiagnosis of Leishmania donovani infection. Comparison of the results of immune adherence hemagglutination with those of indirect immunofluorescence assay, showed a close agreement between the two procedures. Sera from fifteen patients with confirmed parasitological evidence [positive splenic aspirate] of visceral leishmaniasis, as well as, fifteen sera from control children under 10 years of age and four normal adults were included in the study. Titers ranging from 128 to 2048 were obtained with immune adherence hemagglutination in patients and negative titers in the control children. The test appeared to be more discriminating with respect to the antigenic burden of the spleen and more sensitive than immunofluorescence assay. Compared with other conventional and sensitive laboratory tests for the serodiagnosis of leishmaniasis, the minimum requirement, rapidity, simplicity and local availability of reagents render the immune adherence hemagglutination a practical immunoassay for measuring specific antibody in those geographic locations where laboratory facilities are limited