Prevent Disease Spread Research Articles

Automatic detection of an early stage of basal stem rot disease infection using VGG16 and mask R-CNN

Oil palm is the world’s most important oil crop, accounting for roughly 40% of all traded vegetable oil. Basal Stem Rot (BSR) has posed a significant concern to the oil palm industry, particularly in Southeast Asia, as it has the potential to cause substantial economic losses. Laboratory-based methods are reliable for early BSR detection. However, they are costly and destructive. Other methodologies used a semi-automatic approach which requires human intervention. Therefore, this paper presents an automatic detection of BSR using hyperspectral data and a deep learning approach, which includes a Mask R-CNN for image segmentation and a VGG16 as a classifier. The Mask R-CNN was trained using Set B images, and the images in Set A were masked using the mask produced by the Mask R-CNN. The VGG16 was trained with the masked images (Set A). This fully automatic approach demonstrated high model performance with 85.46% accuracy, 86.74% F1 score, 95.02% recall, and a classification time of 0.08s/image. The findings of this research have the potential to significantly benefit the oil palm industry by automatically detecting BSR at an early stage, thus allowing for the prevention of disease spread. It can also help solve the problem of labor shortage.

COVID-19 – OCULAR INVOLVMENT, FINDINGS AND THE RISK OF POTENTIAL TRANSMISSION

The coronavirus disease COVID-19 affects primarily the respiratory system in humans, but it also affects many other organs, including the eyes. The ocular surface is considered as a Sars-CoV-2 gateway; it also plays an important role in its spread through the conjunctival secretions. Conjunctival secretion swabs of 50 people were examined by real-time PCR methodology. All of them were hospitalized due to medium and moderately severe COVID-19 in Lozenetz Hospital Sofia during the period of October-November 2021. The results showed that the severity of clinical findings in the anterior eye segment and subjective complaints did not correspond to the presence of Sars-Cov-2 in conjunctival samples. Nevertheless, eye care specialists need to take notice while working in their ophthalmic practices in order to reduce the risk of virus transmission and diminish SarsCoV-2 infection among visiting patients and health care professionals. An effective program and specific precautions need to be exploited in order to effectively prevent disease spread.

Health system preparedness in infectious diseases: perspective of Malaysia, a middle-income country, in the face of monkeypox outbreaks

The World Health Organization declared monkeypox as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on July 23, 2022. As of July 25th, 2022, there were 16,016 laboratory-confirmed cases reported worldwide with 5 deaths. Malaysia's Health Ministry has developed a five-point strategy to prepare for the impending threat of the infectious disease, encompassing early detection of monkeypox, consolidation of laboratory diagnostic facilities, case management and treatment, cluster management, and strengthening public awareness. Crisis and disaster preparedness within a nation's health system is paramount to preventing disease spread. Various strategies for developing resilience in the face of global infectious disease spread were discussed. The current disease preparedness and response framework and guidelines in Malaysia have established a health system that is proactive and responsive to any potential infectious disease outbreaks. Despite this, the future remains unpredictable, and ongoing fortification is required as events unfold.

Reducing COVID-19 Health Inequities by Identifying Social Needs and Clinical Deterioration of Discharged Emergency Department Patients.

The decision to discharge a patient from the hospital with confirmed or suspected coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is fraught with challenges. Patients who are discharged home must be both medically stable and able to safely isolate to prevent disease spread. Socioeconomically disadvantaged patient populations in particular may lack resources to safely quarantine and are at high risk for COVID-19 morbidity. We developed a telehealth follow-up program for emergency department (ED) patients who received testing for COVID-19 from April 24-June 29, 2020 and were discharged home. Patients who were discharged with a pending COVID-19 test received follow-up calls on Days 1, 4, and 8. The objective of our program was to screen and provide referrals for health-related social needs (HRSN), conduct clinical screening for worsening symptoms, and deliver risk-reduction strategies for vulnerable individuals. We conducted retrospective chart reviews on all patients in this cohort to collect demographic information, testing results, and outcomes of clinical symptom and HRSN screening. Our primary outcome measurement was the need for clinical reassessment and referral for an unmet HRSN. From April 24-June 29, 2020, we made calls to 1,468 patients tested for COVID-19 and discharged home. On Day 4, we reached 67.0% of the 1,468 patients called. Of these, 15.9% were referred to a physician's assistant (PA) out of concern for clinical worsening and 12.4% were referred to an emergency department (ED) patient navigator for HRSNs. On Day 8, we reached 81.8% of the 122 patients called. Of these, 19.7% were referred to a PA for clinical reassessment and 14.0% were referred to an ED patient navigator for HRSNs. Our intervention reached 1,069 patients, of whom 12.6% required referral for HRSNs and 1.3% (n = 14) were referred to the ED or Respiratory Illness Clinic due to concern for worsening clinical symptoms. In this patient population, the demand for interventions to address social needs was as high as the need for clinical reassessment. Similar ED-based programs should be considered to help support patients' interdependent social and health needs beyond those related to COVID-19.

Genetic Structure of the Ca Rater Mallorquí Dog Breed Inferred by Microsatellite Markers.

Simple SummaryCa Rater Mallorquí is a hunting and ratting dog that prevents disease spread and economic losses related to rodent activities on farms. Their presence on farms decreases the need for chemical products against rats and other rodents. Unfortunately, the breed’s number of births has declined. We aimed to study the intra and interracial characterisation of the Ca Rater Mallorquí dog breed, clarify its genetic structure and relationship to other related canine breeds, and find preservation solutions for the breed. Our results clearly show that it is a genetically independent and well-defined breed. However, according to census data, this breed should be part of a conservation plan. Our study provides essential knowledge of the Ca Rater Mallorquí genetic situation and constitutes the starting point for designing and implementing a conservation plan to avoid extinction.Ca Rater Mallorquí is a dog breed from the Island of Mallorca (Spain) traditionally used as a hunting and ratting dog to prevent disease spread and economic losses related to rodent activities on farms. However, the census data shows a population decline that should be addressed by implementing a conservation program. The first step to implementing a conservation plan is knowing the genetic situation of the Ca Rater Mallorquí population. Therefore, we aimed to genetically characterise the breed in our study. We analysed 33 microsatellites recommended by the International Society of Animal Genetics (ISAG) in 77 samples. Data were obtained from 13 samples of Balearic, Spanish, and international dog breeds to study the genetic diversity among breeds. The population did not significantly deviate from the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium with heterozygosity (Ho) of 0.655 and expected heterozygosity (He) of 0.685. The Wright’s fixation indices, the Factorial Correspondence Analysis (FCA), a dendrogram representing Reynolds genetic distance between populations, and the pairwise FST values establish the Ca Rater Mallorquí as an independent breed distinct from the Balearic, Spanish, and international breeds.

METASTATIC MELANOMA TO THE LUNG CURED WITH LOBECTOMY: A CASE REPORT

METASTATIC MELANOMA TO THE LUNG CURED WITH LOBECTOMY: A CASE REPORT

What we can learn from the exported cases in detecting disease outbreaks – a case study of the COVID-19 epidemic

Purpose: Early warning in the travel origins is crucial to prevent disease spreading. When travel origins have delays in reporting disease outbreaks, the exported cases could be used to estimate the epidemic.Methods: We developed a Bayesian model to jointly estimate the epidemic prevalence and detection delay using the exported cases and their arrival and detection dates. We used simulation studies to discuss potential biases generated by the exported cases. We proposed a hypothesis testing framework to determine the epidemic severity.Results: We applied the method to the early phase of the COVID-19 epidemic of Wuhan, United States, Italy, and Iran and found that the indicators estimated from the exported cases were consistent with the domestic data under certain scenarios. The exported cases could generate various biases if not modeled properly. We presented the required number of exported cases for determining different severity levels of the outbreak.Conclusions: The exported case data is a good addition to the domestic data but also has its drawbacks. Utilizing the diagnosis resources from all countries, we advocate that countries work collaboratively to strengthen the global infectious disease surveillance system.

Effects of an online yoga program on anthropometric parameters among overweight female students during the COVID-19 pandemic

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is a public health concern. However, stay-at-home regulations to prevent disease spread increased sedentary behavior with unintended adverse outcomes. Overweight is a major global health issue, and standard treatments have a poor track record of long-term effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how online yoga affected participants who were overweight in terms of anthropometric measurements. The study, which was designed as a experimental study, enrolled sixty overweight adolescents. The participants were divided into two groups: a control group (n = 30) and an intervention group (n = 30) who performed an online yoga home exercise program comprising basic yoga practice with 15 poses and minimal rest periods on Monday Wednesday and Friday, from 5.00 to 5.45 pm for 12 weeks. The intensity of the exercise was 65–75 percent of maximum heart rate (MHR). Anthropometric parameters, including body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), body circumference measurements (BCM), and resting heart rate (RHR) were assessed. All parameters were measured at weeks 0, 8, and 12. Within group and between group comparisons were performed. The results revealed improved BW, BMI, BCM, and RHR in the intervention group; the median BW and BMI of the intervention group was significantly decreased at week 12, and the BCM of the intervention group showed a significant decrease in the chest, waist, hip, and thigh. This declining trend started from week 8. This 12-week online yoga program decreased BW, BMI, BCM, and RHR, which indicates that practicing yoga at home is effective on anthropometric parameters and may be an alternative therapy for health promotion and controlling body weight during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, an appropriate and continuous exercise program must be followed.

Diagnostic Role of Bronchoalveolar Lavage in Patients with Suspected SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia and Negative Upper Respiratory Tract Swab: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

The added role of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in SARS-CoV-2 detection in hospitalized patients with suspected COVID-19 pneumonia and at least one negative nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) has yet to be definitively established. We aimed to provide a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize data from the literature on the diagnostic yield of BAL in this context. We searched Medline and Embase for all studies reporting outcomes of interest published up to October 2021. Two authors reviewed all titles/abstracts and retrieved the selected full texts according to predefined selection criteria. The summary estimate was derived using the random-effects model. Thirteen original studies, involving 868 patients, were included. The summary estimate of proportions of SARS-CoV-2 positivity in BAL fluid in patients with at least one previous negative NPS was 20% (95% confidence interval [CI]; 11–30%). Moreover, microbiological tests of BAL fluid led to the identification of other pathogens, mainly bacteria, in up to two-thirds of cases. BAL plays a crucial role in the diagnostic work-up of patients with clinical suspicion of COVID-19 and previous negative NPS, as it allowed to detect the infection in a significant proportion of subjects, who would have been otherwise misclassified, with relevant implications in the prevention of disease spread, especially in hospital settings.

Spatio-temporal patterns of lumpy skin disease outbreaks in dairy farms in northeastern Thailand.

In 2021–2022, there were numerous outbreaks of lumpy skin disease (LSD) affecting cattle farms across Thailand. This circumstance was the country's first encounter with an LSD outbreak. Thus, a better understanding of LSD epidemiology is necessary. The aim of this study was to determine the spatio-temporal patterns of the LSD outbreaks in dairy farming areas. Data from LSD outbreak investigations collected from dairy farms in Khon Kean province, northeastern Thailand, were analyzed using spatio-temporal models including space-time permutation, Poisson, and Bernoulli models. LSD outbreaks were found in 133 out of 152 dairy farms from May to July, 2021. The majority of dairy farms (n = 102) were affected by the LSD outbreaks in June. The overall herd attack, morbidity and mortality rates were 87, 31, and 0.9%, respectively. According to the results of all models, the most likely clusters were found in the northern part of the study area. The space-time permutation and Poisson model identified 15 and 6 spatio-temporal outbreak clusters, respectively, while the Bernoulli model detected only one cluster. The most likely clusters from those models cover radii of 1.59, 4.51, and 4.44 km, respectively. All farms included in the cluster identified by the space-time permutation model were also included in the cluster identified by the Poisson model, implying that both models detected the same outbreak area. Furthermore, the study results suggested that farmers who own farms within a one km radius of the LSD outbreak farm should be advised to implement more stringent insect vector control measures to prevent disease spread. This study provides better insights into the spatio-temporal pattern of clusters of LSD in the outbreak area. The findings of this study can support authorities in formulating strategies to prevent and control future outbreaks as well as prioritizing resource allocation to high-risk areas.

Investigation of COVID-19 Outbreak among Wildland Firefighters during Wildfire Response, Colorado, USA, 2020.

A COVID-19 outbreak occurred among Cameron Peak Fire responders in Colorado, USA, during August 2020–January 2021. The Cameron Peak Fire was the largest recorded wildfire in Colorado history, lasting August–December 2020. At least 6,123 responders were involved, including 1,260 firefighters in 63 crews who mobilized to the fire camps. A total of 79 COVID-19 cases were identified among responders, and 273 close contacts were quarantined. State and local public health investigated the outbreak and coordinated with wildfire management teams to prevent disease spread. We performed whole-genome sequencing and applied social network analysis to visualize clusters and transmission dynamics. Phylogenetic analysis identified 8 lineages among sequenced specimens, implying multiple introductions. Social network analysis identified spread between and within crews. Strategies such as implementing symptom screening and testing of arriving responders, educating responders about overlapping symptoms of smoke inhalation and COVID-19, improving physical distancing of crews, and encouraging vaccinations are recommended.

Preventive and Avoidant Behaviors Followed by Jordanians During COVID-19 Pandemic.

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), individuals' compliance with protective behaviors was the most effective strategy to break the infection chain and prevent disease spread, even with vaccine availability and use. Understanding protective behaviors within the Jordanian context will shape health promotion campaigns and guide decision-makers to facilitate required resources and support Jordanian citizens. The objective of this study was to identify personal protective (preventive and avoidant) measures used by the Jordanian population during the COVID-19 pandemic to protect themselves from infection. A cross-sectional study with an exploratory, descriptive design was used to collect data using an online self-reported questionnaire from Jordanian people. The survey included the Protection from Infection Scale and the Infection Avoidance Scale. A total sample of 1053 Jordanian citizens was included in the study. The participants exhibited a moderate level of self-care behaviors and high levels of protective and infection avoidance behaviors. Their most common behaviors were getting enough sleep, wearing masks, washing hands, and avoiding travel to infected areas. Contrariwise, the least adopted behaviors were exercising, wearing gloves, and leaving their jobs or schools. During pandemics, policy-makers must understand public concerns and protective behaviors, then provide them with tailored education through health promotion campaigns to enhance healthy behaviors.

Disinfection Efficacy of Tobamovirus-Contaminated Soil in Greenhouse-Grown Crops

The tobamoviruses tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) have caused severe crop damages worldwide. Soil-mediated dispersion of the mechanically transmitted tobamoviruses constitute a major hindrance toward mitigating disease spread in crops carefully planted under sanitized conditions. Tobamoviruses are viable for months in soil and plant debris and for more than a year adhere to clay. However, a low percentage of infectious foci occur in soil following a tobamovirus-infected growing cycle, rendering disinfection studies of several contaminated plots inconclusive for large-scale crop productions. We have therefore formulated a rigorous platform for studying disinfectant efficacy in greenhouses by pouring a virus inoculum to planting pits prior to disinfectant treatment and by truncating seedling roots before planting, which was otherwise conducted under sanitized conditions. We have found that chlorine-based Taharan was significantly efficient in preventing disease spread of ToBRFV and CGMMV in tomato and cucumber plants, respectively. KlorBack was often as good as Taharan. In addition, a formulation of chlorinated tri-sodium phosphate used at a nonphytotoxic 3% concentration showed disinfection efficiency similar to Taharan effect on ToBRFV infection only. Our study provided a small-scale platform for disinfectant efficacy evaluation necessary for application in tobamovirus-contaminated soil, which commonly occurs in commercial tomato and cucumber greenhouses.

Confronting Rapid Reemergence of COVID-19 in Metropolitans of Vietnam: Updated Vietnam's Policies and Response Measures.

Vietnam has demonstrated the effectiveness of precise prevention and control techniques from the very beginning during the three COVID-19 outbreaks. However, the fourth COVID-19 wave, which began in mid-2021, has been considered significantly more dangerous. These challenges required the Vietnamese government to make timely adjustments to the current COVID-19 prevention effort in time to prevent disease spread in the community. According to the Ministry of Health, the COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control strategy has three significant changes: increasing capacity for testing and vaccination, boosting interdisciplinary collaboration, and adjusting quarantine, treatment, and social support policies.

Economic analysis of biosecurity adoption in dairy farming: evidence from Ireland.

Given the significant negative impact of livestock disease outbreaks on animal and public health, preventing disease spread through biosecurity practices is important. In this study, we used a nationally representative dataset that included information on biosecurity practices of almost 300 Irish dairy farmers. We applied parametric and nonparametric estimation methods to assess the economic implications of adopting the following biosecurity measures: vaccination, bulk tank milk testing for diseases, and not pooling colostrum. We found mixed evidence of biosecurity practices on economic outcomes, measured as gross margins per cow. Specifically, we found that vaccination and testing bulk tank milk for diseases were significantly associated with better economic outcomes for dairy farms. However, we found no significant association with the economic performance of not pooling colostrum from more than one animal. Our findings have important policy implications required for targeting support for the adoption of biosecurity practices in dairy herds.

Parents’ Knowledge and Attitude toward Childhood Vaccination in Qassim, Saudi Arabia

Introduction: Childhood vaccination programs participate greatly in reducing the spread of vaccine preventable diseases. Beside the noticeable success of vaccination, there are still parents’ questions and hesitancy regarding childhood vaccination.
 Aims: This study evaluated the knowledge and attitude of parents in Qassim region towards childhood vaccination with the aim to measure the degree of the local community acceptance of childhood vaccination with aspiration to add an effective literature information in this field.
 Study Design: A cross sectional survey study using a Google form designed questionnaire.
 Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in Qassim in Saudi Arabia from October 2020 to December 2020.
 Methodology: We included 403 parents. The data was collected using a questionnaire divided in to three parts; socio-demographic, knowledge and attitude, and side effects. The knowledge was evaluated by seven items with answers set in to ‘Yes’, ‘No’ and ‘Don’t know’. The attitude by seven items with fixed-answers of ‘Agree’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Disagree’. In the third part side effects like fever, pain, diarrhea, skin rash and seizures were directly asked. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis of data. 
 Results: Among 403 participants, the majority were young adult female with a bachelor degree. The parents have good levels of knowledge and attitude towards child hood vaccination and the levels are significantly differed among various demographic variables. The parents’ attitude is linearly influenced by their level of knowledge (P-value is <0.001).
 Conclusion: Beside the good parents’ knowledge that positively influenced by their attitude toward childhood vaccination with a considerable local public awareness in this field, parents recommended more awareness campaigns on vaccination’s benefits and risks.

Roles of rural non-farm employment (RNFE) in India: Why RNFE, the conveyor of a shock like COVID 19 is also the key to recovery?

We assess the role of Rural Non-Farm Employment (RNFE) in livelihoods and in likely impacts of shocks like COVID 19. In India’s agri-food system, the preponderance of small farmers with low endowments of human and financial capital implies that, RNFE has been the principal source of poverty reduction. Yet, RNFE is also the most adversely affected by shocks like COVID 19 and the measures adopted to prevent disease spread. To assess the roles of RNFE and possible effects of shocks, we uniquely utilize the recent rounds of nationally representative Periodic Labor Force Surveys (PLFS). To assess the “potential impact” of COVID 19 on workers, by using the large dataset, we match similar workers in different states of employment (SOE) where SOE may partly reflect the situation post shock. Job loss, reduction in work hours, movement across types of employment, casualization within RNFE is possible due to shocks to RNFE. We estimate that SOE in RNFE have significant association with poverty and income. With the data on COVID lockdown periods, we then validate the results to pair with the prospectively assessed impacts. Notwithstanding the effect of shocks, RNFE has the unique potential in recovery, being the prime rural income generator and risk mitigator apart from being characterized by comparatively high growth in female employment and in socially disadvantaged groups in India.

Nanofiber capsules for minimally invasive sampling of biological specimens from gastrointestinal tract

Accurate and rapid point-of-care tissue and microbiome sampling is critical for early detection of cancers and infectious diseases and often result in effective early intervention and prevention of disease spread. In particular, the low prevalence of Barrett's and gastric premalignancy in the Western world makes population-based endoscopic screening unfeasible and cost-ineffective. Herein, we report a method that may be useful for prescreening the general population in a minimally invasive way using a swallowable, re-expandable, ultra-absorbable, and retrievable nanofiber cuboid and sphere produced by electrospinning, gas-foaming, coating, and crosslinking. The water absorption capacity of the cuboid- and sphere-shaped nanofiber objects is shown ∼6000% and ∼2000% of their dry mass. In contrast, unexpanded semicircular and square nanofiber membranes showed <500% of their dry mass. Moreover, the swallowable sphere and cuboid were able to collect and release more bacteria, viruses, and cells/tissues from solutions as compared with unexpanded scaffolds. In addition to that, an expanded sphere shows higher cell collection capacity from the esophagus inner wall as compared with the unexpanded nanofiber membrane. Taken together, the nanofiber capsules developed in this study could provide a minimally invasive method of collecting biological samples from the duodenal, gastric, esophagus, and oropharyngeal sites, potentially leading to timely and accurate diagnosis of many diseases. Statement of significanceRecently, minimally invasive technologies have gained much attention in tissue engineering and disease diagnosis. In this study, we engineered a swallowable and retrievable electrospun nanofiber capsule serving as collection device to collect specimens from internal organs in a minimally invasive manner. The sample collection device could be an alternative endoscopy to collect the samples from internal organs like jejunum, stomach, esophagus, and oropharynx without any sedation. The newly engineered nanofiber capsule could be used to collect, bacteria, virus, fluids, and cells from the abovementioned internal organs. In addition, the biocompatible and biodegradable nanofiber capsule on a string could exhibit a great sample collection capacity for the primary screening of Barret Esophagus, acid reflux, SARS-COVID-19, Helicobacter pylori, and gastric cancer.

The Application of an Augmented Gravity Model to Measure the Effects of a Regionalization of Potential Risk Distribution of the US Cull Sow Market

The continuous threat of foreign animal disease (FAD) is real and present for the U.S. swine industry. Because of this, the industry has developed plans to ensure business continuity during a FAD outbreak. A core aspect of these plans is regional standstill orders of swine movements to prevent disease spread following a FAD introduction. Unfortunately, there is a dearth of information about the impact of such practices on animal movements throughout the remaining swine marketing channel. This study utilizes a simplified gravity model, to understand the effects of standstill orders on individual states. The effect of each closure on the established trade patterns is determined by monitoring changes in a PPML regression coefficients of the model. Model validation compared the predicted impact of the closure of a terminal processing facility against a real-life closure dataset collected during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The analysis determined that both the population size and location of the closure affected the observed trade patterns. These findings suggest that using a regional stop movement order may complicate disease introduction preparation as each policy comes with its own potential outcome, shifting the geospatial distribution of area risk posed by these cull populations.

Variation in White Blood Cell Differential Fluorescence Scattergram: A Clue for Automated Malaria Diagnosis

Background: Malaria is an arthropod-borne disease caused by Plasmodium. Malaria is a significant public health challenge with about 3.3 billion human lives at risk in 97 countries with two hundred million estimated malaria cases and 600,000 fatalities. Timely diagnosis can prevent disease spread, loss of human lives, and its harmful impact on the economy therefore malaria diagnosis by automated hematology analyzer is of great value. Objective: To assess identification of scattergram abnormalities in malaria samples and to compare its performance with Microscopy, RDTs &amp; PCR. Study Design: Descriptive and cross-sectional study Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pathology, Liaquat University of Medical &amp; Health Sciences Jamshoro, 06 months from May 2020 to October 2020. Methodology: Eighty seven malaria suspected samples were included. CBC performed on Sysmex XN1000i followed by Microscopy of thin blood film, RDTs by using STANDARDTM Q Malaria P.f/Pan Ag Test, DNA extracted by QIAamp DNA mini kit, PCR performed by GenoAmp Real-time qPCR Malaria. Results: The median age of patients was 24+13.93 years. WDF Scattergram abnormalities were observed in 95.4 %of samples with sensitivity of 97.6% and specificity of 100% respectively. PPV was 100% and NPV was 99.8%. 96.4% of patients were malaria positive by microscopy. ICT was positive in 96.6% of samples while PCR confirmed plasmodium presence in 97.7% samples. Conclusion: Automated hematology analyzer provides high sensitivity and specificity for malaria diagnosis. The Sysmex XN-1000i can detect certain abnormalities in WDF scattergrams in malaria patients. As a result, the appearance of an abnormal WDF scattergram in a patient with a history of febrile illness, aids the pathologist in confirming a malaria diagnosis. Keywords: Malaria, Plasmodium Vivax, Plasmodium Falciparum, WDF scattergram, ICT, RT qPCR