Comparative evaluation of bivalent malaria rapiddiagnostic tests versus traditional microscopy method in assessment of malaria in blood donors at a tertiary care teaching hospital and regional blood transfusion centre in central India

Background: Global malaria control efforts are based on 2 broad components: vector control and improved diagnosis and treatment of patients with clinical malaria. Until recently, conventional diagnosis of malaria has been based on either clinical diagnosis or use of microscopic examination of peripheral blood smears. The microscopic detection of blood though considered the gold standard for malaria diagnosis, it is quite laborious and require adequate technical skill and man power. This had urged the development of other microscopic malarial and rapid detection test based on the detection of malarial parasite antigen in the blood. The purpose of this study is to evaluate results of Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria and to corroborate the results with microscopy. Material and Method: This study targeted 10,310 units of donor blood, which were screened for malaria by RDT during the period of February, 2017 to April, 2018 at Tertiary Care Teaching Hospital and Blood Transfusion Centre, R D Gardi Medical College, Ujjain. Peripheral smears were analyzed to confirm the malaria parasite. Result: Nineteen (0.18%) donors were found to be malaria antigen positive, of which only three (15.8%) were confirmed by microscopy. None of the donor had given a history of fever/malaria during pre-donation screening. Seasonal variations were observed. Conclusion: Although RDT is an important tool for malaria testing in rural settings, we suggest the diagnosis must be confirmed with microscopy method. RDTs can be an important tool for malaria testing, peripheral smear microscopy continues to be the gold standard diagnostic test for malaria diagnosis.RDT can be an important tool for malaria testing, peripheral smear microscopy continues to be the gold standard diagnostic test for malaria diagnosis.