Evaluation of the NOW Malaria Immunochromatographic Test for Quantitative Diagnosis of Falciparum and Vivax Malaria Parasite Density

Yuko Katakai; Kanako Komaki-Yasuda; Noppadon Tangpukdee; Polrat Wilairatana; Srivicha Krudsood; Shigeyuki Kano

doi:10.2149/tmh.2011-28

Original articles

Evaluation of the NOW Malaria Immunochromatographic Test for Quantitative Diagnosis of Falciparum and Vivax Malaria Parasite Density

Yuko Katakai, Kanako Komaki-Yasuda, Noppadon Tangpukdee, Polrat Wilairatana, Srivicha Krudsood, Shigeyuki Kano

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Keywords: Immunochromatographic test (ICT), malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, quantitative diagnosis, rapid diagnosis

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2011 Volume 39 Issue 4 Pages 105-108

DOI https://doi.org/10.2149/tmh.2011-28

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Abstract

The NOW^® Malaria Test, an immunochromatographic test (ICT), was evaluated to determine its ability to quantitatively detect malaria parasites using 100 blood samples from Thailand, including 50 Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) infections and 50 P. vivax (Pv) infections. Intensities of the thickness of the visible bands of the positive ICT were compared with the parasite densities. In cases of Pf infection, the intensities of both HRP-2 bands (T1 bands: Pf specific bands) and aldolase bands (T2 bands: pan-Plasmodium bands) correlated with the parasite densities. The intensities of T2 bands in Pf positive samples showed better correlation with the parasite densities than the T1 bands. In the cases of Pv infection, the intensities of T2 bands were also well correlated with parasite density. These results suggest that the ICT is useful not only for rapid detection of malaria parasites but also for estimating parasite density.

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