We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Rapid Diagnostic Test Evaluated for Human Malaria Species

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 04 Jul 2012
Print article
A rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for malaria parasites has been evaluated and compared with other methods in a reference setting.

The three-band rapid diagnostic test detects Plasmodium falciparum-specific parasite lactate dehydrogenase (Pf-pLDH) and pan Plasmodium-specific pLDH (pan-pLDH).

Scientists at Maastricht University (Netherlands) carried out a retrospective and a prospective study to assess with 498 stored and 77 fresh blood samples obtained from international travelers suspected of malaria. Both panels comprised all four Plasmodium species; the retrospective panel comprised also samples negative for malaria. The retrospective panel had been obtained between February 1996 and May 2011. The reference method was microscopy corrected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The prospective panel was run side-to-side with two other RDTs.

In the retrospective evaluation, overall sensitivity for the 247 P. falciparum samples was 94.7%, reaching 98.7% for parasite densities greater than 1,000/μL. Most false negative results occurred among samples with pure gametocytaemia and at parasite densities less than or equal to 100/μL. None of the 96 negative samples showed visible test lines. Sensitivities for the 70 P. vivax, 69 P. ovale and 16 P. malariae were 74.3%, 31.9% and 25.0% respectively. Overall, Pf-pLDH test lines showed higher line intensities compared to the pan-pLDH lines, with 67.9% and 23.0% medium and strong line intensities for P. falciparum.

In the prospective panel, the CareStart pLDH RDT (AccessBio Inc.; Monmouth, NJ, USA) showed higher sensitivities for P. falciparum compared to OptiMAL (Pf-pLDH/pan-pLDH, BioRad; Marnes-la-Coquette, France) and lower sensitivities for P. falciparum as compare to SDFK60 (histidine-rich protein-2 (HRP-2)/pan-pLDH; Standard Diagnostics; Hagal-Dong, Korea). Wrong species identification occurred in 10 (2.5%) samples and was mainly due to P. vivax samples reacting with the Pf-pLDH test line.

The authors concluded that CareStart pLDH may be an alternative to other well-described HRP-2 three band RDTs in the diagnostic setting in non-endemic areas. Despite being better than the other two RDTs that were run side by side, it should be noted that its performance for the detection of P. ovale and P. malariae is mediocre. The study was published on June 18, 2012, in the Malaria Journal.

Related Links:

Maastricht University
AccessBio Inc.
BioRad


Gold Member
Serological Pipet Controller
PIPETBOY GENIUS
Verification Panels for Assay Development & QC
Seroconversion Panels
New
Silver Member
Total Hemoglobin Monitoring System
GREENCARE Hb
New
Bordetella Pertussis Molecular Assay
Alethia Pertussis

Print article

Channels

Clinical Chemistry

view channel
Image: The research team has developed the uCR-Chip device to enhance kidney function testing (Photo courtesy of University of Manitoba)

Low-Cost Portable Screening Test to Transform Kidney Disease Detection

Millions of individuals suffer from kidney disease, which often remains undiagnosed until it has reached a critical stage. This silent epidemic not only diminishes the quality of life for those affected... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The cancer stem cell test can accurately choose more effective treatments (Photo courtesy of University of Cincinnati)

Stem Cell Test Predicts Treatment Outcome for Patients with Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer frequently responds to chemotherapy initially, but eventually, the tumor develops resistance to the therapy, leading to regrowth. This resistance is partially due to the activation... Read more

Pathology

view channel
Image: The UV absorbance spectrometer being used to measure the absorbance spectra of cell culture samples (Photo courtesy of SMART CAMP)

Novel UV and Machine Learning-Aided Method Detects Microbial Contamination in Cell Cultures

Cell therapy holds great potential in treating diseases such as cancers, inflammatory conditions, and chronic degenerative disorders by manipulating or replacing cells to restore function or combat disease.... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Schematic illustration of the chip (Photo courtesy of Biosensors and Bioelectronics, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bios.2025.117401)

Pain-On-A-Chip Microfluidic Device Determines Types of Chronic Pain from Blood Samples

Chronic pain is a widespread condition that remains difficult to manage, and existing clinical methods for its treatment rely largely on self-reporting, which can be subjective and especially problematic... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: The collaboration aims to leverage Oxford Nanopore\'s sequencing platform and Cepheid\'s GeneXpert system to advance the field of sequencing for infectious diseases (Photo courtesy of Cepheid)

Cepheid and Oxford Nanopore Technologies Partner on Advancing Automated Sequencing-Based Solutions

Cepheid (Sunnyvale, CA, USA), a leading molecular diagnostics company, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies (Oxford, UK), the company behind a new generation of sequencing-based molecular analysis technologies,... Read more
Sekisui Diagnostics UK Ltd.