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Sensitive near point-of-care detection of asymptomatic and submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum infections in African endemic countries

Author

Listed:
  • Dimbintsoa Rakotomalala Robinson

    (MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Ivana Pennisi

    (Imperial College London
    Imperial College London)

  • Matthew L. Cavuto

    (Imperial College London
    Imperial College London)

  • Francois Kiemde

    (Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro)

  • Martin Chamai

    (University of Ghana
    University of Ghana)

  • Diane Yirgnur Some

    (Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro)

  • Elliot Quigley

    (Imperial College London)

  • Kenny Malpartida-Cardenas

    (Imperial College London
    Imperial College London)

  • Mamadou O. Ndiath

    (MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Simon Correa

    (MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Bubacarr Darboe

    (MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Lindsay B. Stewart

    (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)

  • Pantelis Georgiou

    (Imperial College London
    Imperial College London)

  • Mamadu Baldeh

    (MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Halidou Tinto

    (Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé, Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro)

  • Aubrey J. Cunnington

    (Imperial College London
    Imperial College London)

  • Annette Erhart

    (MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Umberto D’Alessandro

    (MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine)

  • Jesus Rodriguez-Manzano

    (Imperial College London
    Imperial College London
    Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust)

Abstract

Limited diagnostic capacity for detecting asymptomatic malaria infections with low parasite densities hinders elimination efforts in Africa. Here, we adapt a near point-of-care, LAMP-based diagnostic platform for malaria diagnosis using capillary blood. This Pan/Pf detection method meets the Malaria Eradication Research Agenda (malERA) criteria for community-level screening, with a limit of detection of 0.6 parasites/μL and a sample-to-result time under 45 minutes. We evaluate its performance on 672 capillary blood samples collected at the community level in The Gambia and Burkina Faso, including 146 Plasmodium falciparum positives confirmed by qPCR. The diagnostic platform achieved 95.2% sensitivity (95% CI: 90.4–98.1) and 96.8% specificity (95% CI: 94.9–98.0). It also detected 94.9% (130/137) of asymptomatic infections and 95.3% (41/43) of submicroscopic cases (

Suggested Citation

  • Dimbintsoa Rakotomalala Robinson & Ivana Pennisi & Matthew L. Cavuto & Francois Kiemde & Martin Chamai & Diane Yirgnur Some & Elliot Quigley & Kenny Malpartida-Cardenas & Mamadou O. Ndiath & Simon Cor, 2025. "Sensitive near point-of-care detection of asymptomatic and submicroscopic Plasmodium falciparum infections in African endemic countries," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64027-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64027-4
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