A Pan Plasmodium lateral flow recombinase polymerase amplification assay for monitoring malaria parasites in vectors and human populations
Robust diagnostic tools and surveillance are crucial for malaria control and elimination efforts. Malaria caused by neglected Plasmodium parasites is often underestimated due to the lack of rapid diagnostic tools that can accurately detect these species. While nucleic-acid amplification technologies stand out as the most sensitive methods for detecting and confirming Plasmodium species, their implementation in resource-constrained settings poses significant challenges. Here, we present a Pan Plasmodium recombinase polymerase amplification lateral flow (RPA-LF) assay, capable of detecting all six human infecting Plasmodium species in low resource settings. The Pan Plasmodium RPA-LF assay successfully detected low density clinical infections with a preliminary limit of detection between 10-100 fg/µl for P. falciparum. When combined with crude nucleic acid extraction, the assay can serve as a point-of-need tool for molecular xenomonitoring. This utility was demonstrated by screening laboratory-reared Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes fed with Plasmodium-infected blood, as well as field samples of An. funestus s.l. and An. gambiae s.l. collected from central Africa. Overall, our proof-of-concept Pan Plasmodium diagnostic tool has the potential to be applied for clinical and xenomonitoring field surveillance, and after further evaluation, could become an essential tool to assist malaria control and elimination.
Authors
- Cláudio Romero Farias Marinho (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1227-3845)
- Sévérin N’Do (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3418-4592)
- Debbie Nolder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5637-7785)
- Susana Campino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1403-6138)
- Janvier B. Bandibabone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8218-8614)
- Mojca Kristan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0363-8558)
- Christopher J. Drakeley
- Bertin Zawadi
- Teun Bousema (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2666-094X)
- Colin J. Sutherland (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1592-6407)
- Louisa A. Messenger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3107-6214)
- Jamille Gregório Dombrowski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1863-1914)
- Emma Collins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0367-2681)
- Taane Gregory Clark (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8985-9265)
- Leen N. Vanheer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7680-385X)
- Michael J. Delves (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8526-4782)
- Thomas Walker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3545-012X)
- Mary Cameron (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5693-082X)
- Bantuzeko Chimanuka
- Matthew Higgins (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3241-2064)
- William J. Stone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6647-0166)
- Almahamoudou Mahamar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3367-3351)
Institutions
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Radboud University Medical Center (NL)
- University of Warwick (GB)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Université des Sciences, des Techniques et des Technologies de Bamako (ML)
- Université Officielle de Bukavu (CD)
- Médecins Sans Frontières (ES)
- Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (BF)
- UK Health Security Agency (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Reports
- Published
- 2024-08-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-71129-4
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.09
Funders
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Medical Research Council