Comparison of PCR, Peripheral Blood Smear and Rapid Malaria Antigen Test for Malaria Diagnosis

Purpose: In this study we assessed the performance of three tests PCR, Peripheral smear 8 Rapid Malaria Antigen Test & compared the same for malaria diagnosis. Material & Methods: After obtaining Institutional ethics committee approval, prospective study was carried out on blood samples of clinically suspected malaria cases submitted to the laboratory at Dept. of Microbiology 8 Dept. of Pathology, in a tertiary care hospital. Results: Microscopy (PS) of blood smears identified malarial parasites in 58% (29 out of 50), while the (RMAT) Paramax3 TM test detected malaria infection in 78% (39 out of 50) of the cases. PCR detected malaria infection in 74% (37 out of 50) and in 16% (8 out of 50) of control samples. Conclusion: Improved methods of extraction and target sourcing for amplification would modify and enable precise molecular diagnosis of malaria in appropriate settings.