The Rapid Manual Para Sight™-F Test for Diagnosing Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Currently, about 1.6 million people live in areas of Saudi Arabia where malaria is transmitted. In the southwestern region of the Asir lowlands (Tihama), Plasmodium falciparum is the predominant species, accounting for over 90% of all malaria infections. 1 The peak of malaria transmission in the Asir lowlands is between October and April, and coincides with the rainy season (550 mm/year). In the malarious areas of Asir, two categories of population are at risk of contracting the infection: 1) permanent residents of the foothills and lowlands of Tihama and the coastal plain along the Red Sea; and 2) residents of the non-malarious areas in the highlands (Sarawat), who frequently travel for recreational activities to the endemic lowland areas during the transmission season. The latter group is especially prone to severe infection and a high degree of parasitemia, as they have little or no resistance to malaria. In the rural areas of Saudi Arabia, management of human malaria at the primary health care level is based on clinical diagnosis of febrile patients before institution of chloroquine therapy. The absence of specific diagnostic criteria and supportive laboratory confirmation of parasitemia mostly leads to inaccurate diagnosis and overtreatment. In regional referral hospitals, where appropriate facilities for better diagnosis and light microscopy are present, examination of blood slides for malaria is the cornerstone for early diagnosis and prompt treatment. However, the sensitivity of the standard thickblood examination and microscopy has many limitations. 2