Visceral leishmaniasis rapid diagnostic test performance

Overview

This report on the performance of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for visceral leishmaniasis is one of a series of TDR diagnostic evaluations. This report focuses on 5 commercially available antibody-detecting RDTs in 3 global regions of VL endemicity — the Indian subcontinent, East Africa, and South America. The RDTs were tested for clinical accuracy, ease of use, thermal stability and reproducibility. The data shows that the tests performed well, but that more research is needed to establish limits of acceptable performance and to implement RDTs within a diagnostic algorithm approach for each global endemic area.