A rapid staining technique for Leishmania parasites in splenic aspirate smears.

A quick and suitable method for staining Leishmania donovani and other blood protozoa is described. The method, which could have wide applications, is a modification of Field's staining technique as used for malaria parasites. It uses the same stains in a different order. The method has been tried on smears containing malaria and trypanosomes, and the results were good. It is very cheap and requires no special apparatus or training.