Field-friendly test for monitoring multiple immune response markers during onset and treatment of exacerbated immunity in leprosy.

Acute inflammatory reactions represent the major cause of irreversible neuropathy in leprosy. These tissue destructive episodes have considerable overlap with acute immunological complications (flares) in several chronic (autoimmune) diseases, which similarly warrant early detection. However, the lack of diagnostic tests impedes early diagnosis of reactions. Here, we evaluated a user-friendly, multiplex lateral flow assay for simultaneous detection of IP-10 and anti-phenolglycolipid-I antibodies for longitudinally monitoring early onset and treatment of leprosy reactions.