Efficacy Of The Carestart Malaria Hrp2 And Pldh/Hrp2 Combo Compared To Microscopy In Diagnosis Of Malaria

<p><span>Malaria control involves prompt diagnosis of malaria parasites, either using microscopy, Rapid Diagnosis Test (RDTs), or other tools such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This study was conducted to observe the efficiency and effectiveness of microscopy and rapid diagnosis tests in detecting the malaria parasite. The study was conducted among patients visiting the Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital Kebbi parasitology laboratory. Blood samples were collected and screened using microscopy and RDT according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. The result of the study revealed high prevalence in patients within the age of 5-20 years with 41(68.33%) for microscopy and 40(66.67%) for RDT, out of 120 samples of patients, 75(62.50%) were male and 45(37.50%) were female, with positive 55(73.33%) for microscopy and positive of 49(65.33%) for RDT. Also, sensitivity, specificity, positive predicted value and negative predicted value of microscopy revealed a value of 100% while RDTs revealed 92.77%, 95.56%, 97.47% and 87.76%, respectively. This study revealed that microscopy remains the gold standard method for diagnosis of malaria, especially when there is available expertise, but in the absence of a microscope or its expertise, RDTs can be used for quick diagnosis of malaria parasite. </span></p>