REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Infectious Agents and Disease
Diagnostic Methods for Protozoan Diseases: a review focused on leishmaniasis, Chagas disease and malaria
Provisionally accepted
Ada Da Silva Matos*
Rodrigo Nunes Rodrigues-da-Silva
Thais Stelzer Toledo
Laura Sant'Anna Ataides
Natália Debize da Motta
Cinthia Magalhães Rodolphi
Isabela Ferreira Soares
Francini Neves Ribeiro
Ana Luiza Carneiro Alencar
Fernanda de Moraes Maia
Josué da Costa Lima-Junior
Fernanda Nazaré Morgado- Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Protozoan diseases remain a serious public health challenge, particularly in countries such as Brazil, whose continental dimensions and diverse ecological settings allow for multiple transmission cycles, involving a wide range of vectors, reservoirs, intermediate and definitive hosts, suitable habitats, and a complex socioeconomic context that increases exposure to various diseases due to social vulnerability. Consequently, diseases such as malaria, leishmaniasis, and Chagas disease are highly prevalent in Brazil, affecting a significant portion of the population, especially in regions marked by greater social inequality. In this context, this study aims to present the epidemiological landscape of these diseases and discuss the role of immunological and molecular diagnostic tools, as well as the fundamental concepts that are essential for evaluating these diagnostic approaches. Overall, this review provides a detailed summary of established diagnostic approaches of these diseases and emphasizes the integration of clinical and epidemiological information with the application of sensitive and specific diagnostic techniques aimed at promoting early detection, monitoring, and control of infections in endemic areas, highlighting the important role of diagnosis as a strategic tool in public health.
Keywords: Chagas Disease, diagnosis, Leishmaniasis, Malaria, protozoan, review
Received: 30 Oct 2025; Accepted: 12 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Matos, Rodrigues-da-Silva, Toledo, Ataides, da Motta, Rodolphi, Soares, Ribeiro, Alencar, Maia, Lima-Junior and Morgado. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ada Da Silva Matos
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