Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jan;86(1):93-5.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.10-0631.

Performance of a histidine-rich protein 2 rapid diagnostic test, Paracheck Pf®, for detection of malaria infections in Ugandan pregnant women

Mehul Dhorda  1 , Patrice Piola, Dan Nyehangane, Benon Tumwebaze, Aisha Nalusaji, Carolyn Nabasumba, Eleanor Turyakira, Rose McGready, Elizabeth Ashley, Philippe J Guerin, Georges Snounou
Affiliations

Performance of a histidine-rich protein 2 rapid diagnostic test, Paracheck Pf®, for detection of malaria infections in Ugandan pregnant women

Mehul Dhorda et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Jan.

Abstract

Improved laboratory diagnosis is critical to reduce the burden of malaria in pregnancy. Peripheral blood smears appear less sensitive than Plasmodium falciparum histidine-rich protein 2-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for placental malaria infections in studies conducted at delivery. In this study, 81 women in Uganda in the second or third trimester of pregnancy were followed-up until delivery. At each visit, peripheral blood was tested by blood smear, RDT, and nested species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Sensitivity and specificity of the tests was calculated with PCR, which detected 22 infections of P. falciparum, as the gold standard. The sensitivity and specificity of blood smears were 36.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 18.0-59.2%) and 99.6% (95% CI = 97.7-100%), respectively. The corresponding values for RDT were 31.8% (95% CI = 14.7-54.9%) and 100% (95% CI = 98.3-100%). The RDTs could replace blood smears for diagnosis of malaria in pregnancy by virtue of their relative ease of use. Field-based sensitive tests for malaria in pregnancy are urgently needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Pure or mixed Plasmodium falciparum infections detected by polymerase chain reaction in pregnant women, Uganda.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Brabin BJ, Rogerson SJ. In: Malaria in Pregnancy: Deadly Parasite, Susceptible Host. Duffy PE, Fried M, editors. London: Taylor & Francis; 2001. pp. 27–52. (The epidemiology and outcomes of maternal malaria).
    1. Desai M, ter Kuile FO, Nosten F, McGready R, Asamoa K, Brabin B, Newman RD. Epidemiology and burden of malaria in pregnancy. Lancet Infect Dis. 2007;7:93–104. - PubMed
    1. Fried M, Duffy PE. Adherence of Plasmodium falciparum to chondroitin sulfate A in the human placenta. Science. 1996;272:1502–1504. - PubMed
    1. Fried M, Nosten F, Brockman A, Brabin BJ, Duffy PE. Maternal antibodies block malaria. Nature. 1998;395:851–852. - PubMed
    1. Mockenhaupt FP, Rong B, Till H, Eggelte TA, Beck S, Gyasi-Sarpong C, Thompson WN, Bienzle U. Submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum infections in pregnancy in Ghana. Trop Med Int Health. 2000;5:167–173. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms