Leishmaniasis is a set of complex and multifaceted syndromes, with different clinical manifestations, caused by different species of the genus Leishmania spp. that can be characterized by at least four syndromes: visceral leishmaniasis (VL, also known as kala-azar), post-kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL), cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL). Among the most serious clinical forms, VL stands out, which causes the death of around 59,000 people annually. Fast and accurate diagnosis in VL is essential to reduce the disease’s morbidity and mortality. There are a large number of diagnostic tests for leishmaniasis, however they do cross-react with other protozoa and their sensitivity changes according to the clinical form of the disease. Thus, it is essential and necessary to provide a diagnosis that is sufficiently sensitive to detect asymptomatic infected individuals and specific to discriminate individuals with other infectious and parasitic diseases, thus enabling more accurate diagnostic tools than those currently used. In this context, the aim of this review is to summarize the conventional diagnostic tools and point out the new advances and strategies on visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis diagnosis.

利什曼病是一组由不同种类的利什曼原虫引起的复杂多方面的综合症，具有不同的临床表现spp。至少可以以四种综合征为特征：内脏利什曼病（VL，也称为黑热病），黑热病后皮肤利什曼病（PKDL），皮肤利什曼病（CL）和粘膜皮肤利什曼病（MCL）。在最严重的临床形式中，VL脱颖而出，每年导致约59,000人死亡。快速准确地诊断VL对于降低疾病的发病率和死亡率至关重要。有许多针对利什曼病的诊断测试，但是它们确实与其他原生动物发生交叉反应，并且其敏感性根据疾病的临床形式而变化。因此，至关重要的是，必须提供一种诊断，该诊断应足够敏感以检测无症状感染的个体，并特别要区分具有其他传染性和寄生虫性疾病的个体，从而使诊断工具比目前使用的诊断工具更准确。在这种情况下，本综述的目的是总结常规诊断工具，并指出内脏和皮肤利什曼病诊断的新进展和新策略。