Figure 1

A standard curve for qRT-kDNA PCR of Leishmania donovani promastigotes in blood. Human blood was mixed well, and dripped onto Whatman 3MM filter papers. On average, each drop (~50 μl) covered an area equivalent to 5 paper punch discs (r = 3 mm). Two discs were used for extracting DNA per reaction (~20 μl of blood). Standard curves were run with every batch of qRT-kDNA PCR and the number of parasites in tested samples was extrapolated from it.