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Comparative Study
. 2024 Nov 15;123(11):383.
doi: 10.1007/s00436-024-08380-1.

Prevalence of asymptomatic parasitaemia among household members of children under seasonal malaria chemoprevention coverage and comparison of the performance of standard rapid diagnostic tests versus ultrasensitive RDT for the detection of asymptomatic parasitaemia in Nanoro, Burkina Faso

Sié A Elisée Kambou  1 , Kié Solange Millogo  2 , Paul Sondo  2 , Bérenger Kabore  2 , Amélé Fifi Chantal Kouevi  2 , Ismaila Bouda  2 , Toussaint Rouamba  2 , Karim Derra  2 , Mark Christian Tahita  2 , Hamidou Ilboudo  2 , Eli Rouamba  2 , Gauthier Tougri  3 , Sabina Dahlström Otienoburu  4   5   6 , Mehul Dhorda  4   5   7 , Sanata Bamba  8 , Philippe J Guerin  4   5   7 , Halidou Tinto  2
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Prevalence of asymptomatic parasitaemia among household members of children under seasonal malaria chemoprevention coverage and comparison of the performance of standard rapid diagnostic tests versus ultrasensitive RDT for the detection of asymptomatic parasitaemia in Nanoro, Burkina Faso

Sié A Elisée Kambou et al. Parasitol Res. .

Abstract

Asymptomatic carriers of Plasmodium falciparum represent important parasite reservoirs maintaining malaria transmission in the community. This study aimed on the one hand to screen the other household members living with children under seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) coverage in order to determine the level of malaria infection in this population and on the other hand to determine the appropriate type of rapid diagnostic test (RDT) for this screening to detect these asymptomatic carriers in the community. During the 2022 SMC campaign (July to October), a cross-sectional survey was carried out in 745 participants who were screened by ultrasensitive rapid diagnostic test (usRDT), standard rapid diagnostic test (rRDT) and microscopy. Out of them, 395 had microscopy results available and were included in the data analysis. The prevalence of asymptomatic carriers of asexual forms of Plasmodium falciparum was 26.58% (105/395) while sexual forms were found in 5.32% (21/395) of the study population. Children from 5 to 15 years had the highest prevalence of P. falciparum asexual forms 35.76% (59/165) compared with older participants. Malaria positivity rate for rRDT and usRDT was 29.40% (219/745) and 40.49% (305/745) respectively. The usRDT had a higher sensitivity than the rRDT (72.38% (95% CI 62.8-80.66) vs. 60.95% (95% CI 50.94-70.33)). In terms of specificity, rRDT had a higher specificity 82.41% (95% CI 77.53-86.62) versus 69.66% (95% CI 64.01-74.89) for usRDT. This study reports a high prevalence of parasite carriers in household members of children under SMC coverage in Nanoro, Burkina Faso. In conclusion, usRDT seems more appropriate for strategies based on detection and treatment of parasite carriers within the community.

Keywords: Asymptomatic carriers; Malaria; Nanoro; Standard RDT; Ultrasensitive RDT.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate This study was an ancillary to a larger study entitled “Boosting the impact of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) through simultaneous screening and treatment of household members of children receiving SMC in Burkina Faso” acronym SMC-RST which has been approved by the Ethics Committee for Health Research of Burkina Faso (Deliberation No.: 2021–03-059 of 10 March 2021). A signed informed consent was obtained from participants or their parents/guardians (if they are minors) before enrollment. An impartial, literate witness (not a member of the study staff) was presented in case the parents/guardians were illiterate. The parent(s)/guardian(s) and, if applicable, the witness signed the informed consent. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of asymptomatic carriers of P. falciparum by age groups. The figure represents the prevalence of the carriers of parasite (detected by microscopy) in household members of children under SMC coverage. A The carriers of the asexual form of P. falciparum. B The carriers of gametocyte
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Venn diagram showing the distribution of positive results according to the diagnostic test used with microscopy as reference test
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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