Version 1
: Received: 4 February 2022 / Approved: 7 February 2022 / Online: 7 February 2022 (12:55:46 CET)
How to cite:
Kaaya, R.D.; Matowo, J.; Kajeguka, D.; Tenu, F.; Shirima, B.; Mosha, F.; Kavishe, R. The Impact of Sub-Microscopic Malaria Parasitaemia on Rapid Diagnosis in North-Eastern Tanzania, an Area with Diverse Transmission Patterns. Preprints2022, 2022020086. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202202.0086.v1
Kaaya, R.D.; Matowo, J.; Kajeguka, D.; Tenu, F.; Shirima, B.; Mosha, F.; Kavishe, R. The Impact of Sub-Microscopic Malaria Parasitaemia on Rapid Diagnosis in North-Eastern Tanzania, an Area with Diverse Transmission Patterns. Preprints 2022, 2022020086. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202202.0086.v1
Kaaya, R.D.; Matowo, J.; Kajeguka, D.; Tenu, F.; Shirima, B.; Mosha, F.; Kavishe, R. The Impact of Sub-Microscopic Malaria Parasitaemia on Rapid Diagnosis in North-Eastern Tanzania, an Area with Diverse Transmission Patterns. Preprints2022, 2022020086. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202202.0086.v1
APA Style
Kaaya, R.D., Matowo, J., Kajeguka, D., Tenu, F., Shirima, B., Mosha, F., & Kavishe, R. (2022). The Impact of Sub-Microscopic Malaria Parasitaemia on Rapid Diagnosis in North-Eastern Tanzania, an Area with Diverse Transmission Patterns. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202202.0086.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Kaaya, R.D., Franklin Mosha and Reginald Kavishe. 2022 "The Impact of Sub-Microscopic Malaria Parasitaemia on Rapid Diagnosis in North-Eastern Tanzania, an Area with Diverse Transmission Patterns" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202202.0086.v1
Abstract
Global malaria epidemiology has changed in the last decade with a substantial increase in cases and death being recorded. Over 90% of global cases and deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Tanzania accounts for about 4% of all cases and deaths reported in recent years. It is believed that several factors contribute to the resurgence of malaria, parasite resistance to antimalarials and mosquito resistance to insecticides being at the top of the list. The presence of sub-microscopic infections poses a significant challenge to malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDT), particularly in low-endemic areas. Our cross-sectional surveys in Handeni and Moshi, Tanzania assessed the effect of low parasite density on mRDT. A significant difference (P˂0.001) in malaria prevalence by mRDT, light microscopy (LM) and nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was found among age groups. In comparison to all other groups, school-age children (5-15 years) had the highest prevalence of malaria. Based on the results of this study, mRDT may miss up to 6% of cases of malaria mainly due to low-density parasitaemia. Routinely used mRDT will likely miss the sub-microscopic parasitemia which will ultimately contribute to the continued spread of malaria and hinder efforts to control and eliminate it.
Keywords
Malaria transmission; Sub-microscopic; low-density; parasitaemia; rapid diagnostic test
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Epidemiology and Infectious Diseases
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
