Use of Leishmania major derived leishmanin for skin test surveys of visceral leishmaniasis in Ethiopia.

The potential use of Leishmania major derived leishmanin in surveys of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was examined. The study was conducted in Konso sub-district, southwest Ethiopia involving 51 VL patients, 18 VL contacts, four localised cutaneous leishmaniasis (LCL) cases and 15 healthy controls. Sixty three percent of treated VL patients, 44.4% of VL contacts, all of LCL cases and none of untreated VL patients were positive to the test. Leishmanin skin test (LST) induration sizes of 41 treated VL patients were in the ranges of 0 to 10 mm, with a mean of 4.9 mm. The mean induration size and the positive LST rates in female patients were found to be significantly lower than in males. The major drawback of the antigen in the survey was the relatively smaller and flatter indurations. The relationship of LST to gender and leishmanial disease variant is discussed.