Field implementation and evaluation of novel isothermal, nucleic acid-based diagnostic tools for malaria elimination in sub-Saharan Africa

The recent shift from control to elimination and eventual eradication, endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, raises the need for additional research on new tools able to identify malaria carriers maintaining transmission. This is particularly appropriate when the pre-elimination stage has been attained, i.e. when among the blood slides collected at health facilities the percentage of those positive for a malaria infection is less than 5%. As a substantial proportion of asymptomatic malaria carriers cannot be detected by microscopy, there is the need for high throughput, field-adapted molecular techniques able to handle large number of samples and to detect sub-microscopic parasite densities so that positive individuals could be identified and eventually treated, decreasing the reservoir of infection and thus transmission. This project aims at optimizing and adapting novel molecular techniques able to detect carriers of Plasmodium falciparum sexual and asexual forms. Part of the optimization strategies will include sample pooling matrices to reduce the turnaround time. We also propose to identify novel potential diagnostic targets or biomarkers associated with malaria status based on previous work done in this area using non-invasive sampling. Implementation of field adapted tools will greatly enhance the capacity for targeted malaria interventions towards elimination.

Trefwoorden:B780-tropische-geneeskunde