Review article
https://doi.org/10.37797/ig.41.4.3
Malaria – Diagnostic Methods
Josip Bago
orcid.org/0000-0002-8363-9875
; Institute of Public Health of Varaždin County, Varaždin, Croatia
Hrvojka Janković
; Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Suzana Bukovski
; University Hospital for Infectious Diseases "Dr. Fran Mihaljević", Zagreb, Croatia; 4 Faculty of Dental Medicine and Health Osijek, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University in Osijek, Croatia; Croatian Catholic University, Faculty of Medicine and Department of Nursing, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Malaria remains the most important and impactful parasitic infection in the world, causing significant morbidity and mortality in endemic countries, and posing a great health risk for travellers to those areas. A major component in the global fight against malaria is the ability to detect it both quickly and accurately. Technological advancements continually provide us with new diagnostic methods, but the oldest method, conventional microscopic diagnosis of malaria, is still considered to be the gold standard. Here, we review some of the relevant literature on diagnostic methods for malaria most commonly applied in the clinical setting, both in endemic and non-endemic areas: microscopic diagnosis, rapid antigen tests (RDTs), molecular methods and serology. We also inform on some of the more recent advancements in the diagnosis of malaria.
Keywords
malaria; Plasmodium; parasitic infection; diagnostics; blood smear; thick smear; rapid diagnostic tests; PCR
Hrčak ID:
284365
URI
Publication date:
28.10.2022.
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