Evaluation of a malaria rapid diagnostic test for assessing the burden of malaria during pregnancy.
Plasmodium falciparum infection during pregnancy may cause placental malaria and subsequently low birth weight, primarily through the placental sequestration of infected red blood cells. Measuring the burden of malaria during pregnancy usually involves determining the prevalence of placental malaria infection through microscopic examination of placental blood films, a difficult and error-prone process. A number of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria have been developed, most of them immunochromatographic dipstick assays. However, none have been tested for the direct determination of malaria antigen in placental blood. We undertook an evaluation of the Malaria Rapid Test (MAKROmed in determining placental malaria infection. The prevalence of placental parasitemia was 22.6% by microscopy, 51.0% by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and 43.1% by RDT. When the PCR was used as the gold standard, RDTs had a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 76%. The MAKROmed RDT was highly sensitive in the detection of placental malaria, but had lower than expected specificity.
Singer
Lauren M
LM
Malaria Branch, Division of Parasitic Diseases, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30341, USA.
Newman
Robert D
RD
Diarra
Amidou
A
Moran
Allisyn C
AC
Huber
Curtis S
CS
Stennies
Gail
G
Sirima
Sodiomon B
SB
Konate
Amadou
A
Yameogo
Mathias
M
Sawadogo
Romial
R
Barnwell
John W
JW
Parise
Monica E
ME
D001724:Birth Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008853:Microscopy; D018512:Parasitemia / Q000175:diagnosis; D010922:Placenta Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D015597:Pregnancy Complications, Parasitic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity