Serodiagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in an American Peace Corps volunteer

Abstract

A case of visceral leishmaniasis in a young American Peace Corps volunteer is reported. Both clinical and epidemiologic evidence strongly supported the diagnosis; however, hepatic and splenic aspirates for the causative organism were negative. The diagnosis was eventually confimed through serology, employing indirect immunofluorescence and complement fixation testing of serum. The patient clinically responded dramatically to sodium stibogluconate, the drug of choice for the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis. This case is significant because it alerts the physician to an unusual cause of fever of unknown origin in residents of Western nations and demonstrates the potential usefulness of serology in diagnosing visceral leishmaniasis when the infecting organism cannot be isolated.