Diagnosing malaria today

Abstract

The Malaria Manual for Today's Laboratoryby E. Kokoskin, Mc Gill University, 2001. £13.50 (64 pages) ISBN 0 7717 0559The book The Malaria Manual for Today's Laboratory is written primarily for physicians and medical technologists who wish to improve their skills in the laboratory diagnosis of malaria. This is prudent because the relative ease and speed of modern travel and migration means ‘imported’ cases of malaria could present in any country, and many smaller diagnostic laboratories do not come across malaria on a regular basis.Traditionally, laboratory diagnosis of malaria has been made using thick blood films, which continues to be the gold standard test. However, this test has disadvantages such as the manner in which the film is prepared, the level of training of the observer, the adequacy of maintenance of materials and equipment, and the fair level of sensitivity of such blood films. This book is divided into eight chapters, including both traditional and contemporary methods for malaria diagnosis. Chapters cover topics from the preparation of blood films through to estimating the level of parasitaemia. Traditional staining of thick and thin films with Giemsa stain, in addition to rapid staining and non-microscopic methods, are covered along with the advantages and limitations of each method including handy tips and trouble shooting guides. This is not a book for those totally unfamiliar with malaria parasites because the morphological characteristics for each Plasmodium spp. are not discussed until over half way through the book. This particular chapter would be much improved if photographs had been integrated with the text rather than placed in the appendix. Specifically, the comparative chart of Plasmodium spp. would be infinitely more user-friendly if pictures had been included. One minor error in the appendix is that a photograph used to depict a Plasmodium vivax gametocyte appears in a later section claiming to show a gametocyte of Plasmodium ovale. Whereas gametocytes of these species do share certain similarities, they are not identical. This book is not a definitive guide, but it does contain a wealth of detailed technical information and would be a useful addition to the bookshelves of those already familiar with basic microscopic diagnosis of malaria and who wish to improve their expertise.