Mohammadi-Ghalehbin Behnam, Hatam Gholam Reza, Sarkari Bahador, Mohebali Mehdi, Zare Zabih, Jaberipour Mansoureh, Bohlouli Shahab
Center for Basic Researches in Infectious Diseases, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran,e-mail:
Iran J Immunol. 2011 Dec;8(4):244-50.
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by Leishmania infantum in Mediterranean basin and is an endemic disease in some parts of Iran. Canines are the main reservoirs of VL in most of the endemic areas. Different serological methods have been introduced for diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL).
In this survey a Fucose-Mannose Ligand (FML) ELISA, using native L. infantum antigen, was developed and its validity for detection of infected dogs in comparison with direct agglutination test (DAT) and PCR was evaluated.
Blood samples of sixty ownership dogs (≤ 3 years old) were collected from Meshkin-shahr district in Ardabil province, North-west of Iran. Sera were separated for serological assays (DAT and FML-ELISA) and the buffy coats were collected for molecular evaluation.
Two out of the 60 (3.33%) samples were found to be positive (antibody titer of ≥ 1/320) in DAT while seven of the 60 (11.66%) samples were positive by FML-ELISA. Nine out of 60 (15%) buffy coat samples showed a band about 680 bp indicative of L. infantum in PCR. Three out of 60 dogs had Kala-azar symptoms and were positive by PCR and FML-ELISA, while two of these three dogs had antibody titers >1/320 in their serum samples. The sensitivity and specificity of FML-ELISA for the detection of CVL in both symptomatic and asymptomatic dogs were found to be 77.8% and 100%, respectively.
Considering the acceptable sensitivity and high specificity of FML-ELISA, use of this serological method can be recommended for epidemiological surveys of CVL.
内脏利什曼病（VL）在地中海盆地由婴儿利什曼原虫引起，在伊朗的一些地区是一种地方病。在大多数流行地区，犬类是VL的主要储存宿主。已经引入了不同的血清学方法来诊断犬内脏利什曼病（CVL）。
在本次调查中，开发了一种使用天然婴儿利什曼原虫抗原的岩藻糖 - 甘露糖配体（FML）ELISA，并评估了其与直接凝集试验（DAT）和PCR相比检测感染犬的有效性。
从伊朗西北部阿尔达比勒省梅什金沙尔区收集了60只（≤3岁）家犬的血样。分离血清用于血清学检测（DAT和FML - ELISA），收集血沉棕黄层用于分子评估。
60份样本中有2份（3.33%）在DAT中呈阳性（抗体滴度≥1/320），而60份样本中有7份（11.66%）通过FML - ELISA呈阳性。60份血沉棕黄层样本中有9份（15%）在PCR中显示出约680 bp的条带，表明存在婴儿利什曼原虫。60只犬中有3只患有黑热病症状，通过PCR和FML - ELISA呈阳性，而这3只犬中有2只血清样本中的抗体滴度>1/320℃。发现FML - ELISA检测有症状和无症状犬CVL的敏感性和特异性分别为77.8%和100%。
考虑到FML - ELISA可接受的敏感性和高特异性，可推荐使用这种血清学方法进行CVL的流行病学调查。
