Diagnosis of Malaria Parasites Plasmodium spp. in Endemic Areas: Current Strategies for an Ancient Disease

Abstract

Fast and effective detection of the causative agent of malaria in humans, protozoan Plasmodium parasites, is of crucial importance for increasing the effectiveness of treatment and to control a devastating disease that affects millions of people living in endemic areas. The microscopic examination of Giemsa‐stained blood films still remains the gold‐standard in Plasmodium detection today. However, there is a high demand for alternative diagnostic methods that are simple, fast, highly sensitive, ideally do not rely on blood‐drawing and can potentially be conducted by the patients themselves. Here, the history of Plasmodium detection is discussed, and advantages and disadvantages of diagnostic methods that are currently being applied are assessed.

Microfluidic detection of human diseases: From liquid biopsy to COVID-19 diagnosis

“…The gold-standard detection method for malaria diagnosis is a blood smear check under an optical microscope to look for the parasites. This method while being labor-intensive and prone to human error is currently still the most widely used method ( The malERA Consultative Group on Diagnoses, 2011 , Gitta and Kilian, 2020 ). The gold-standard methods for other infectious disease diagnoses in the clinic include cell culture for bacterial detection, immunology-based methods for antigen detection, and PCR–based nucleic acid detection for the virus.…”

Point-of-Care Strategies Applied to Malaria Diagnosis

“…Working at the microscale, microfluidic devices are portable, easy-to-use, self-contained, and low-cost diagnostic devices that allow the precise manipulation of minute amounts of liquids to be manipulated by miniaturized structures, such as micropumps, micromixers, microtweezers, and microvalves. Most attractive features of microfluidic technology for POC applications are the low volume of reagents required, faster reaction times, and compact/portable platforms [54,55].…”

“…Fraser and colleagues developed a portable biosensor with a colorimetric approach to detect P. falciparum LDH in a device with three separate microfluidic chambers, obtaining high sensitivity and specificity [60]. Aptamers against other proteins, such as pGDH, PfEMP1, of HMGB1, have also been test in laboratory conditions but still largely remain as a promising approach for use in malariadiagnosing POC assays [55].…”

Progress in Parasite Genomics and Its Application to Current Challenges in Malaria Control

“…Raman spectroscopy is a relatively novel technique that can be used to diagnose the presence of Plasmodium. This technique measures the amount of wavelength and light intensity of scattered light reflected from the target molecule of Plasmodium present in an infected sample either in liquid, gas, or solid form [70]. Raman spectroscopy can be used specifically to characterize hemozoin, a pigment produced by infected erythrocytes and can be used to track the progression of the disease and efficacy of drug treatment [71].…”