Evaluation of a malarial antibody assay for use in the screening of blood and tissue products for clinical use.
OBJECTIVE
A new recombinant Plasmodium antigen enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for the detection of malarial antibodies was evaluated for the screening of 'malaria-risk' blood and tissue donations.


METHODS
A total of 13,269 donor and patient samples were tested by both the EIA and the standard diagnostic antibody immunofluorescence test (IFAT).


RESULTS
A total of 114/138 (82.6%) samples from patients with P. falciparum and 11/13 (84.6%) samples from patients with P. vivax tested positive. A total of 714/13,053 (5.47%) samples from donors identified as 'malaria risk', owing to residency or travel, were reactive in the EIA.


CONCLUSIONS
The assay is more sensitive than a previously implemented malarial antibody EIA (73% in acute P. falciparum and 56% in acute P. vivax infections). The sensitivity of this new EIA is comparable to that of the IFAT, and the specificity is sufficient to screen 'malaria-risk' donors.
Kitchen
A D
AD
National Transfusion Microbiology Reference Laboratory, National Blood Service, London, UK. alan.kitchen@nbs.nhs.uk
Lowe
P H J
PH
Lalloo
K
K
Chiodini
P L
PL
D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D001782:Blood Donors; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques / Q000379:methods; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000635:transmission; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000276:immunology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016378:Tissue Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D065227:Transfusion Reaction
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan