Current and Emerging Laboratory Techniques for Malaria Diagnosis
Clement Ugochukwu Nyenke *
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Evelyn Orevaoghene Onosakponome
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Roseanne Adah Okafor
Department of Medical Laboratory Science, PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Effective diagnostic methods must continue to be developed due to the effects of malaria on world health. Malaria is an infectious disease spread by mosquitoes that affects both people and other animals. It is the product of Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted through bites from infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Other sporozoan species responsible for malaria infections include the sporozoan parasites Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malaria, and Plasmodium knowlesi. Routine diagnosis of malaria is impeded in areas where the disease is endemic by technical and infrastructure issues with laboratories. Prompt and accurate diagnosis is essential since good disease management is one of the primary actions of the Global Malaria Control Strategy. Accurate malaria detection is also crucial in order to inform malaria control efforts through epidemiologic screening and surveillance, for research reasons to evaluate the effectiveness of antimalarial medications and vaccines, and for blood bank screening. This study's main goal is to show some of the new and effective ways to diagnose malaria that go beyond the gold standard, light microscopy, which has some problems.
Keywords: Malaria, parasite, plasmodium, diagnosis