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. 2011 Dec;39(4):105-8.
doi: 10.2149/tmh.2011-28. Epub 2011 Dec 1.

Evaluation of the NOW Malaria Immunochromatographic Test for Quantitative Diagnosis of Falciparum and Vivax Malaria Parasite Density

Yuko Katakai  1 , Kanako Komaki-Yasuda, Noppadon Tangpukdee, Polrat Wilairatana, Srivicha Krudsood, Shigeyuki Kano
Affiliations

Evaluation of the NOW Malaria Immunochromatographic Test for Quantitative Diagnosis of Falciparum and Vivax Malaria Parasite Density

Yuko Katakai et al. Trop Med Health. 2011 Dec.

Abstract

The NOW® Malaria Test, an immunochromatographic test (ICT), was evaluated to determine its ability to quantitatively detect malaria parasites using 100 blood samples from Thailand, including 50 Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) infections and 50 P. vivax (Pv) infections. Intensities of the thickness of the visible bands of the positive ICT were compared with the parasite densities. In cases of Pf infection, the intensities of both HRP-2 bands (T1 bands: Pf specific bands) and aldolase bands (T2 bands: pan-Plasmodium bands) correlated with the parasite densities. The intensities of T2 bands in Pf positive samples showed better correlation with the parasite densities than the T1 bands. In the cases of Pv infection, the intensities of T2 bands were also well correlated with parasite density. These results suggest that the ICT is useful not only for rapid detection of malaria parasites but also for estimating parasite density.

Keywords: Immunochromatographic test (ICT); Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium vivax; malaria; quantitative diagnosis; rapid diagnosis.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
NOW® Malaria ICT results. (A) Test window with bands for low Pf parasitemia (T1 band intensity of 1, and T2 band intensity of 0). (B) Test window with bands for high Pf parasitemia (T1 band intensity of 3, and T2 band intensity of 2). C = Positive procedural control band
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Comparison of T1 and T2 band intensity read by the ICT test window and Pf density of each blood sample. The T1 band is shown in (A). The T2 band is shown in (B). Each dot indicates a single data point. Linear regression and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (R) are indicated in each field.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Comparison of the T2 band intensity read by the ICT test window and Pv density of each blood sample. Each dot indicates a single data point. Linear regression and Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (R) are indicated in the field.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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