Clinics (Sao Paulo). 2020;75:e2036.
Visceral Leishmaniasis diagnosis: a rapid test is a must at the hospital bedside
Lucia Maria Almeida Braz
, Roozbeh Tahmasebi
, Philip Michael Hefford
, José Angelo Lauletta Lindoso
DOI: 10.6061/clinics/2020/e2036
At the time of the widespread availability of rapid diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2—the causative virus of the COVID-19 pandemic—from drugstores throughout Brazil, there is a distinct lack of use of rapid diagnostic tests for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) at the bedsides of hospitalized patients. These tests are mainly distributed by the Ministério da Saúde do Brazil-MS (Ministry of Health) only to the Laboratórios Centrais de Saúde Publica - LACENs (Central Public Health Laboratories) and are predominantly provided to public hospitals.
VL is the most severe form of leishmaniasis and it causes high morbidity and mortality in developing countries (,). Leishmania infantum chagasi is responsible for VL in the New World, with typical clinical signs and symptoms of splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, and fever (). VL can be life-threatening, and because 90% cases of VL occur in Brazil, reliable and rapid diagnosis of VL is required ().
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