Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Parasitology 1735-7020 10 3 2015 10 17 360 365 EN 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 Behnaz AKHOUNDI Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Zahra KAKOOEI Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Zabih ZAREI Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Meshkin Shahr Research Station, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Meshkin Shahr, Iran Sorour CHAREHDAR Dept. of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Soheila MOLAEI Meshkin Shahr Health Centre, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Meshkin Shahr, Iran 2015 10 14 2015 10 14 Background: Visceral leishmaniasis is systematic serous parasitic disease with pub­lic health importance. Zoonotic form of visceral leishmaniasis is wide spread in Mediterranean basin and South America regions. Direct agglutination test (DAT) is an accurate, reliable and non-expensive serological test for the diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis in human and canines but the antigen preparation involves some limita­tions. This study aimed to compare the conventional production of DAT anti­gen with our modified DAT antigen and then assessed on human and dog pooled sera. Methods: Conventional DAT antigen has been prepared at the School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences and some modifications were car­ried out on it, which named as modified DAT antigen. Three positive and one nega­tive human and dog pooled serum were separately used for the comparison of modified DAT with conventional DAT antigen batches with one-month interval for a period of 9 months. Results: A good concordance was observed between modified DAT compared to conventional DAT antigens for the detection of visceral leishmaniasis on human (100%) and dog (94.4%) pooled sera, respectively. Conclusion: Since the modified DAT antigen could be reduced the preparation time from 3 days to several hours and a good degree of agreement was found between modified DAT and convention DAT antigen batches, it can be used as a simple and easy tool for screening and serodiagnosis of human and canine L. infan­tum infection. https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/view/301 https://ijpa.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijpa/article/download/301/280