Browsing by Author "Angamuthu Selvapandiyan"

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Diagnostic techniques for visceral leishmaniasis: An overview of methods used in East Africa
(Elsevier Inc., 2025) Vincent Obino Orucho; Ankit Gupta; Rael Jepkogei Masai; Erick Nyakundi Ondari; Om Prakash Singh; Benuel Nyagaka; Angamuthu Selvapandiyan
Leishmanias is a parasitic infection caused by a protozoan belonging to the genus Leishmania and transmitted by sand fly, Phlebotomus fly in the old world and Lutzomyia in the New world. The disease is prevalent in the tropics, subtropics, and Southern Europe, where it affects about 1.5 million to 2 million people annually. India, Bangladesh, Sudan, South Sudan, Brazil and Ethiopia account for up to 90% of all the VL cases. While Leishmania cases in Asia are declining, cases in East Africa especially in Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya have been increasing. The rise in East African cases is partially attributed to ongoing armed conflicts especially in Somalia, Sudan and Southern Sudan, which has displaced people and increased their exposure to sand fly bites. Migration from endemic to non-endemic regions, misdiagnosis, famine, malnutrition, climate change and an increase in HIV cases are other contributing factors. The clinical diagnosis of Leishmania in East Africa combines the patient's clinical signs with either serological or parasitological test, with rK39 strip and microscopy being the major methods used. Diagnosis of the condition remains challenging, as current techniques have limitations, including the inability to detect parasites in tissue, the need for specialized expertise, prohibitive costs of testing equipment, low antibody titers, and the risk of misdiagnosis due to co-infections with diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria and typhoid. Various techniques, including serological and molecular parasitological methods, have been employed in attempts to address these challenges, but with limited success. This article therefore, reviews some of the techniques that have been used in Leishmania diagnosis in East Africa and discusses other available new techniques with aim of overcoming the current challenges. © 2024 Elsevier Inc.
Emerging trends and Innovative strategies for the diagnosis of Leishmaniasis: A quantum leap from classical to modern era
(Elsevier B.V., 2025) Lalit Nharwal; Mirza Adil Beg; Dev Sehgal; Omprakash Singh; Abhay Tiwari; Angamuthu Selvapandiyan; Garima Chouhan
The genus Leishmania comprises a distinct group of species that exhibit distinct clinical features. Interestingly, this clinical variability frequently overlaps or intersects resulting in symptoms that don't follow typical patterns and often resemble those of unrelated diseases. Diagnosing leishmaniasis is challenging as current techniques exhibit several lacunae including cross-reactivity with other protozoal species, inability to discriminate between species, along with differential sensitivity and specificity. Thus, despite multiple methods that can clinically confirm leishmaniasis disease, there are pitfalls present and the diagnostic methods are still far from being ideal. Over the last two decades, the emergence of non-invasive immunological and molecular techniques have played a key role in transforming and advancing the diagnostic approaches used for leishmaniasis. Although antibody-detection diagnostics such as rK39 ELISA, direct agglutination tests, indirect fluorescent antibody tests and immunochromatographic strip tests are very sensitive, they cannot be used to detect prior infections or to distinguish between Leishmania species. Molecular methods such as PCR and LAMP assay have gained popularity because of their extraordinary sensitivity and specificity as well as their versatility in analysing varied samples. However, diagnosing relapses and co-infections associated with leishmaniasis continues to pose significant challenges. Both misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis can significantly impact a patient's survival. Here, this systematic and comprehensive review provides an overview of both conventional and emerging diagnostic methods for Leishmania, including biosensors and AI-based tools. It highlights innovative strategies to bridge traditional and advanced methods, emphasizing that improved diagnostics are critical for effective disease detection, management and control. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.