Assessment of the direct agglutination test, fast agglutination screening test, and rK39 dipstick test for the sero-diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in Syria

Objective: To evaluate the performances of 3 serological assays (direct agglutination test [DAT], fast agglutination screening test [FAST], recombinant protein [rK(39)] dipstick) test for use in primary care, for the diagnosis visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in Syria. Methods: We utilized 267 serum samples obtained during 2007 from patient groups (confirmed and suspected VL, confirmed cutaneous leishmaniasis, toxoplasmosis) from endemic areas in Syria and control samples, and applied the 3 serological tests in the Damascus University, Damascus and Health laboratories at the same time, on these samples. Results: Our data show that the tests were very sensitive, where the DAT was the most specific followed by FAST, then rK(39) dipstick. Conclusion: Our study confirmed that all the tests performed well, and proved to be very important sero-diagnosis tools for visceral leishmaniasis.