title: Evaluation of the accuracy of the EasyTest™ malaria Pf/Pan Ag, a rapid diagnostic test, in Uganda.
abstract: In recent years, rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been widely used for malaria detection, primarily because of their simple operation, fast results, and straightforward interpretation. The Asan EasyTest™ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag is one of the most commonly used malaria RDTs in several countries, including Korea and India. In this study, we tested the diagnostic performance of this RDT in Uganda to evaluate its usefulness for field diagnosis of malaria in this country. Microscopic and PCR analyses, and the Asan EasyTest™ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag rapid diagnostic test, were performed on blood samples from 185 individuals with suspected malaria in several villages in Uganda. Compared to the microscopic analysis, the sensitivity of the RDT to detect malaria infection was 95.8% and 83.3% for Plasmodium falciparum and non-P. falciparum, respectively. Although the diagnostic sensitivity of the RDT decreased when parasitemia was ≤500 parasites/µl, it showed 96.8% sensitivity (98.4% for P. falciparum and 93.8% for non-P. falciparum) in blood samples with parasitemia ≥100 parasites/µl. The specificity of the RDT was 97.3% for P. falciparum and 97.3% for non-P. falciparum. These results collectively suggest that the accuracy of the Asan EasyTest™ Malaria Pf/Pan Ag makes it an effective point-of-care diagnostic tool for malaria in Uganda.
authors.affiliation: GenBody Inc., Cheonan 330-714, Korea.
authors.forename: Chom-Kyu
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Pyo Yun
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju 660-751, Korea.
authors.forename: Byoung-Kuk
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Na
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Seong Kyu
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Su
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Soo
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Keun
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Environmental Biology and Tropical Medicine, School of Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Taek
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry & CBITRC, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea.
authors.forename: Hak-Yong
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Yun-Kyu
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Seok Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine and Inha Research Institute for Medical Sciences, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon 400-712, Korea.
authors.forename: Tong-Soo
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D016778:Malaria, Falciparum / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D018512:Parasitemia; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014454:Uganda / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic
keywords: Plasmodium falciparum; Uganda; field test; malaria; point-of-care testing; rapid diagnostic test