Evaluation of blood agar microtiter plates for culturing leishmania parasites to titrate parasite burden in spleen and peripheral blood of patients with visceral leishmaniasis

J Clin Microbiol. 2010 May;48(5):1932-4. doi: 10.1128/JCM.01733-09. Epub 2010 Mar 24.

Abstract

Serial dilution of blood and spleen biopsy specimens, plated on Novy-MacNeal-Nicolle (NNN) blood agar using microtiter culture plates, is a sensitive and reproducible method for detection and growth of Leishmania parasites. Plates could be easily monitored, and growth could be rapidly detected. Moreover, parasite number may be estimated using this technique.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Agar
  • Blood / parasitology*
  • Culture Media / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Leishmania / isolation & purification*
  • Leishmaniasis, Visceral / parasitology*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Spleen / parasitology*

Substances

  • Culture Media
  • Agar