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Short communication: Paracheck‐Pf®: a new, inexpensive and reliable rapid test for P. falciparum malaria
Author(s) -
Proux Stephane,
Hkirijareon Lily,
Ngamngonkiri Chatee,
McConnell Stephen,
Nosten François
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
tropical medicine and international health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.056
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1365-3156
pISSN - 1360-2276
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3156.2001.00694.x
Subject(s) - malaria , plasmodium falciparum , gold standard (test) , medicine , rapid diagnostic test , diagnosis of malaria , parasitemia , immunology
We compared the performance of Paracheck‐Pf®, a new and cheap rapid malaria test, with ICT‐Pf/Pv® and microscopy in two malaria surveys in Thai villages on the Thai‐Burmese border. The specificity, sensitivity, predictive positive and negative values of the Paracheck‐Pf® and ICT‐Pf® tests were calculated taking microscopy results as the gold standard. The 294 ICT‐Pf/Pv tests resulted in two invalid (no control line) and 11 doubtful results. Both the ICT‐Pf/Pv® and Paracheck‐Pf® tests reliably detected P. falciparum infections. However, Paracheck‐Pf® failed to detect three P. falciparum cases and likewise, ICT‐Pf/Pv® failed to detect the same three cases and an additional four cases. These seven cases were detected by microscopy and had a parasitaemia under 150 parasites/μl. At a cost of c. US $1.00, the Paracheck‐Pf® test, based on the detection of the P. falciparum specific HRP‐2 protein, is a reliable, easy to use and affordable tool for the diagnosis of P. falciparum malaria.