title: Malaria surveillance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: comparison of microscopy, PCR, and rapid diagnostic test.
abstract: Malaria surveillance is critical for control efforts, but diagnostic methods frequently disagree. Here, we compare microscopy, PCR, and a rapid diagnostic test in 7137 samples from children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo using latent class analysis. PCR had the highest sensitivity (94.6%) and microscopy had the lowest (76.7%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Electronic address: sdoctor@live.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Stephanie M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Doctor
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Yunhao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Whitesell
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Kyaw L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Thwai
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
authors.forename: Steve M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Janko
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA; Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emch
authors.affiliation: Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Medecine, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Melchior
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kashamuka
authors.affiliation: Programme National de Lutte contre le SIDA et les IST, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Jérémie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Muwonga
authors.affiliation: Ecole de Santé Publique, Faculté de Medecine, Université de Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
authors.forename: Antoinette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tshefu
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Meshnick
mesh_terms: D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008288:Malaria / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D008853:Microscopy; D010965:Plasmodium malariae / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D062486:Public Health Surveillance; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Diagnostics; Latent class analysis; Malaria; Microscopy; PCR; RDT; Rapid diagnostic test; Surveillance