Abstract
We have compared results of Plasmodium species identification obtained with conventional on-site microscopy of Giemsa-stained thick smears (GTS) and a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 96 malaria patients from Rondônia, Western Brazilian Amazon. Mixed-species infections were detected by PCR in 30% patients, but no such case had been found on GTS. Moreover, P. malariae infections were detected in 9 of 96 patients (10%) by PCR, but were not identified by local microscopists. The potential impact of species misidentification on malaria treatment and control is discussed.
Highlights
We have compared results of Plasmodium species identification obtained with conventional on-site microscopy of Giemsa-stained thick smears (GTS) and a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 96 malaria patients from Rondônia, Western Brazilian Amazon
P. malariae infections were detected in 9 of 96 patients (10%) by PCR, but were not identified by local microscopists
No case of P. malariae infection was detected in the 165,000 malaria patients living in the western Amazonian State of Rondônia who were examined between 1996 and 1997 (Fundação Nacional de Saúde, unpublished data)
Summary
We have compared results of Plasmodium species identification obtained with conventional on-site microscopy of Giemsa-stained thick smears (GTS) and a semi-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 96 malaria patients from Rondônia, Western Brazilian Amazon. P. malariae infections were detected in 9 of 96 patients (10%) by PCR, but were not identified by local microscopists. Mixed-species (P. falciparum plus P. vivax) infections were found in only 3,042 (0.7%) patients.
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