Coupling of recombinant LIPL32 based latex agglutination test and IgM Dot-ELISA for the acute case detection of canine leptospirosis in disease endemic region

Serological diagnosis of canine leptospirosis in disease endemic region like Kerala is often difficult due to the presence of antibodies due to a prior infection/vaccination. Many of the available diagnostic tests are either expensive or technically demanding. The present study envisages the coupling of two easy tests such as recombinant LipL 32 based the latex agglutination test (LAT) and IgM- Dot ELISA for rapid, accurate detection of canine leptospirosis. The canine sera samples suspected for leptospirosis were screened using MAT, LAT and IgM Dot- ELISA. It was observed that the LAT was having a high sensitivity of 98.4%, however, demonstrated a low specificity of 67.2% in comparison to MAT. The respective values of IgM Dot- ELISA when compared to MAT were 52.8% and 97.2%.Thus, it was concluded that coupling LAT, a highly sensitive but low specific test with IgM Dot ELISA, a test having high specificity, could identify the acute reactors of leptospiros in a disease endemic region.