Figure 1.
Technical performance and range of detection of the Leishmania infantum q PCR assay: in (a) DNA was extracted from serial dilutions of cultured L. infantum, ranging from 1 × 106 to 1 Leishmania/mL. Amplification curves are shown for each dilution, with each parasite concentration; (b) the mean Ct values are plotted from ten tested against serial dilutions containing L. infantum per reaction. Each point represents the Ct of an individual sample, with the plot of Ct values and parasite equivalent fitting a linear function (R2 _0.99).