Abstract
Malaria is the most important parasitic disease of humans. Cochrane Review support the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for malaria treatment which recommend that in all settings clinical suspicion of malaria should be confirmed by parasitological diagnosis using microscopy or Malarial Rapid Diagnostic Test (MRDT). Microscopic diagnosis sensitivity requires expertise and may not be feasible in developing countries in endemic areas and hence MRDT may complement this test. As declared in the World Malaria report 2013 there has been increased use of MRDT which reflect that this test is being taken seriously for diagnostic and management. With every diagnosis test there are lacunae which must be reviewed before interpretation of result. A rapid diagnosis test may be used in endemic areas because it is cost effective, so that rational treatment would be given and hence prevent drug resistance as well as reduce the economic burden.
Highlights
An estimated 3.4 billion people are at risk of malaria
For such a large population suffering from malaria, World Health Organization (WHO) malaria global programme recommends the use of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (MRDTs) which are able to detect malarial specific protein antigens and enzymes [2,3]
Malaria is caused by five species of parasite that affect humans, and all of these species belong to the genus Plasmodium: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae and P. knowlesi
Summary
An estimated 3.4 billion people are at risk of malaria. WHO estimates that 207 million cases of malaria occurred globally in 2012 (135–287 million) and 6,27,000 deaths (4,73,000–7,89,000) [1]. Detection of parasites in blood is a gold standard for diagnosis of malaria where patients present with clinical manifestation of malaria. For such a large population suffering from malaria, WHO malaria global programme recommends the use of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests (MRDTs) which are able to detect malarial specific protein antigens and enzymes [2,3]. MRDT can be deployed in field at large scale for treatment strategy
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