Short Report: Evaluation of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) for Malaria Diagnosis in a Field Setting

A rapid and accurate diagnosis of malaria parasites is a challenge in most countries to which malaria is endemic. The conventional diagnostic method for detecting malaria parasites is microscopic examination of thin and/or thick blood smears. 1 Although effective and inexpensive, this method is laborious and time-consuming, and its sensitivity is poor in cases of low parasitemia or if performed by inexperienced personnel. The immunochromatographic method with antibody specific for malaria antigens is rapid, but can only identify Plasmodium falciparum –specific antigens and panmalarial antigens, and its sensitivity and specificity is lower for species other than P . falciparum . 2