title: Evaluation of the malaria rapid diagnostic test VIKIA malaria Ag Pf/Pan™ in endemic and non-endemic settings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are a useful tool in endemic malaria countries, where light microscopy is not feasible. In non-endemic countries they can be used as complementary tests to provide timely results in case of microscopy inexperience. This study aims to compare the new VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan™ RDT with PCR-corrected microscopy results and the commonly used CareStart™ RDT to diagnose falciparum and non-falciparum malaria in the endemic setting of Bamako, Mali and the non-endemic setting of Lyon, France.
  
  
  METHODS
  Blood samples were collected during a 12-months and six-months period in 2011 from patients suspected to have malaria in Lyon and Bamako respectively. The samples were examined by light microscopy, the VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan™ test and in Bamako additionally with the CareStart™ RDT. Discordant results were corrected by real-time PCR. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were used to evaluate test performance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Samples of 877 patients from both sites were included. The VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan™ had a sensitivity of 98% and 96% for Plasmodium falciparum in Lyon and Bamako, respectively, performing similar to PCR-corrected microscopy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The VIKIA Malaria Ag Pf/Pan™ performs similar to PCR-corrected microscopy for the detection of P. falciparum, making it a valuable tool in malaria endemic and non-endemic regions.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Parasitologie et de Mycologie Médicale, Faculty of Medicine, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France. daniel.eibach@chu-lyon.fr
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eibach
authors.forename: Boubacar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Traore
authors.forename: Mourad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bouchrik
authors.forename: Boubacar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Coulibaly
authors.forename: Nianégué
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Coulibaly
authors.forename: Fanta
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Siby
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bonnot
authors.forename: Anne-Lise
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bienvenu
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Picot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019411:Clinical Laboratory Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000379:methods*; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008302:Mali; D008853:Microscopy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D010274:Parasitology / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult