Post-Arrival Screening for Malaria in Asymptomatic Refugees Using Real-Time PCR

Malaria is a significant health risk to refugee populations originating from endemic areas, but there is little consensus on screening and/or treatment approaches for malaria in this population. Furthermore, detection of malaria in semi-immune asymptomatic refugees is limited by the sensitivity of d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene 2011-01, Vol.84 (1), p.161-165
Main Authors: MATISZ, Chelsea E, NAIDU, Prenilla, SHOKOPLES, Sandra E, GRICE, Diane, KRINKE, Valerie, BROWN, Stuart Z, KOWALEWSKA-GROCHOWSKA, Kinga, HOUSTON, Stan, YANOW, Stephanie K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Biological and medical sciences
Canada
Child
Child, Preschool
Female
Human protozoal diseases
Humans
Infant
Infectious diseases
Malaria
Malaria - diagnosis
Male
Mass Screening - methods
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Parasitic diseases
Plasmodium
Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods
Protozoal diseases
Refugees
Sensitivity and Specificity
Young Adult
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Summary:Malaria is a significant health risk to refugee populations originating from endemic areas, but there is little consensus on screening and/or treatment approaches for malaria in this population. Furthermore, detection of malaria in semi-immune asymptomatic refugees is limited by the sensitivity of diagnostic tests used for screening. We determined the prevalence of malaria by microscopy and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in a consecutive population of 324 asymptomatic refugees examined in Edmonton, Canada, during 2009-2010. Although all thick and thin blood smear results were negative, 10 subjects (3.1%) tested PCR positive for Plasmodium DNA. Interestingly, 6 of 10 PCR positive subjects are at risk of malaria relapse by P. vivax or P. ovale infections. These results suggest that appropriate guidelines for malaria screening should consider the risk of relapsing infections, and they highlight the potential usefulness of real-time PCR in the diagnosis of asymptomatic malaria.
ISSN:0002-9637
1476-1645
1476-1645
DOI:10.4269/ajtmh.2011.10-0494