Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 13 2 2018 06 25 172 179 Mahin FARAHMAND Dept. of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Hossein NAHREVANIAN Dept. of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Vahid KHALAJ Dept. of Biotechnology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Mehdi MOHEBALI Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Center for Research of Endemic Parasites of Iran (CREPI), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mohammad BARATI Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Infectious Diseases Research Center, AJA University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sanaz NADERI Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran Zabih ZAREI Meshkin-Shahr Research Station, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Meshkin-Shahr, Iran Ghader KHALILI Dept. of Immunology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran 2018 06 25 2018 06 25 Background: This study aimed to set-up latex agglutination test (LAT) and ELISA based on recombinant A2 from Iranian strain of Leishmania (L.) infantum (rA2-Ag) and evaluated for detection of anti- Leishmania antibodies in dogs compared to standard direct agglutination test (DAT). Methods: The rA2-Ag was synthesized under a part of the A2 gene sequences which contain immune dominant sequences and less number of repetitive sequences. Latex beads, 0.8 μm (Sigma, USA) were sensitized with rA2-Ag. The tests were carried out on sera collected from 350 ownership dogs including symptomatic (n=67), asymptomatic (n=230) canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL), and (n=53) uninfected domestic dogs as control group. Results: Anti-leishmanial antibodies were detected in 97 (27.7%), 96 (27.4%) and 29 (%9) of the serum samples by using DAT, rA2-ELISA, and rA2-latex, respectively with ≥1:320 as a cut-off titer when DAT-confirmed cases were compared with the control groups. A combined sensitivity of 52% and specificity of 82.40% for rA2-ELISA and 23.8% and specificity 95.38%, respectively were found with ≥1:320 as a cut-off titer when DAT-confirmed cases were compared with the control groups. The concordance between rA2-ELISA and rA2 latex compared with DAT as a gold standard serological test for VL were found 73.7% and 77.5%, respectively. Conclusion: A good degree of agreement was found between rA2-ELISA and DAT (73.7%). rA2-ELISA could detect more seropositive serum samples than rA2-LAT and it may be recommended as an alternative tool for the diagnosis of CVL. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/2199 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/2199/824