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Malaria diagnostics: now and the future

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 September 2014

PETER L. CHIODINI
PETER L. CHIODINI*
Affiliation:
Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London WC1E 6JB, UK The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Department of Clinical Parasitology, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Mortimer Market, London WC1E 6JB, UK. E-mail: peter.chiodini@uclh.nhs.uk
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Summary

Light microscopy of stained blood films is still the mainstay of malaria diagnosis in many regions, but its pre-eminence is threatened by accurate and sensitive rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) based on immunochromatography which are now widely used in the field. In well-resourced regions, nucleic acid detection easily out performs microscopy and RDTs. This paper reviews the main in vitro methods for parasite detection and considers future trends in diagnostics, both for sophisticated laboratory settings and for field use.

Keywords

malariamicroscopyrapid diagnostic testsnucleic acid detection
Type
Special Issue Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 141 , Issue 14: Symposia of the British Society for Parasitology Volume 52 Advances in diagnostics for parasitic diseases , December 2014 , pp. 1873 - 1879
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

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