Sub-microscopic malaria cases and mixed malaria infection in a remote area of high malaria endemicity in Rattanakiri province, Cambodia: implication for malaria elimination

Lien vers Pubmed [PMID] – 20409349

Malar. J. 2010;9:108

Malaria microscopy and rapid diagnostic tests are insensitive for very low-density parasitaemia. This insensitivity may lead to missed asymptomatic sub-microscopic parasitaemia, a potential reservoir for infection. Similarly, mixed infections and interactions between Plasmodium species may be missed. The objectives were first to develop a rapid and sensitive PCR-based diagnostic method to detect low parasitaemia and mixed infections, and then to investigate the epidemiological importance of sub-microscopic and mixed infections in Rattanakiri Province, Cambodia.