Laboratory diagnosis of an imported case of visceral leishmaniasis in Henan Province / 中国血吸虫病防治杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the epidemiological and clinical data of an imported case of visceral leishmaniasis in Henan Province, and explore the method of laboratory diagnosis of kala-azar. Methods The epidemiological and clinical data of an imported visceral leishmaniasis patient were analyzed. Leishmania donovani bodies in bone marrow smears were observed microscopically. The antibody was detected by using rK39 dipstick test strips. Two pairs of specific primers, K13A-K13B and LITSR-L5.8S, were used to amplify kinetoplast DNA and internal transcribed spacer of rDNA of the parasite, respectively. Results The patient had been in the epidemic area of visceral leishmaniasis, and had symptoms such as irregular fever, splenomegaly, pancytopenia, and inversed ratio of albumin and globulin. The amastigotes of L. donovani were found in the bone marrow smears, and rK39 test strip was positive, and the PCR products of K13A-K13B and LITSR-L5.8S were 87 bp and 285 bp respectively. The similarities of the two fragment sequences to the corresponding sequences of L. donovani were 94% and 100%, respectively. Conclusion The case is diagnosed as visceral leishmaniasis according to the epidemiological data, clinical manifestations and laboratory test results of the patient, and the pathogen is L. donovani.