Development of a rapid and highly sensitive malaria diagnosis system for practical use in the field

Abstract

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by parasitic protozoans of the genus Plasmodium, and parasitizes on red blood cells (RBCs). It is one of the major infectious diseases, with an estimated 216 million clinical cases and 445, 000 deaths. The African Region continues to bear an estimated 90% of all malaria cases and deaths worldwide, and the infrastructure to address the disease is weak in endemic area. A highly sensitive and accurate malaria diagnostic system which can be used in the endemic area is necessary. A fluorescent blue-ray optical system with scan disc including a push column for the recovery of RBCs from whole blood was developed. A portable, battery-driven fluorescence image reader was employed to detect Plasmodium falciparum-infected RBCs (Pf-iRBCs) for 40 min. The ability of the developed system to detect low-density Pf-iRBCs and provide accurate quantitative evaluation with easy operation was demonstrated.