[Studies on detection of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in blood samples by multiplex polymerase chain reaction].
OBJECTIVE
To establish a sensitive and specific PCR-based method to detect Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax in blood samples in a single amplification reaction.


METHODS
Malaria parasite DNA in blood was amplified by the multiplex polymerase chain reaction using two sets of primers derived from the P. f. moderately-repetitive DNA sequence and COIII gene of P.v.


RESULTS
A 206-bp product for P. f. and a 370-bp product for P.v. were amplified by multiplex PCR, being able to detect parasitemia level as low as 5 x 10(-7) for P. f. and 1.02 x 10(-6) for P. v. and having no cross-reaction with human leucocyte DNA. A total of 783 blood samples on the filter paper collected from patients attending to malaria clinics in malaria endemic areas were detected. The positive rate of multiplex PCR was 85.8%, the misdiagnosis rate was 0, and the under-diagnosis rate was 0.1%, while these three rates of microscopic examination were 84.9%, 3.1% and 1.0%, respectively. The concordance between the two methods was 95.8%.


CONCLUSIONS
The multiplex PCR method made the malaria detection more sensitive and specific than the microscopic examination and should be suitable for the diagnosis of malaria in mixed endemic areas, large-scale epidemiological studies, follow-up of drug treatment and donor blood screening.
Chen
S
S
Department of Parasitology, Suzhou Medical College, Suzhou 215007.
Lu
H
H
Gao
Q
Q
Tang
X
X
D000818:Animals; D017931:DNA Primers; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010966:Plasmodium vivax / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D017931:DNA Primers; D016054:DNA, Protozoan