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Comparison of detection methods to estimate asexual Plasmodium falciparum parasite prevalence and gametocyte carriage in a community survey in Tanzania

Overview of attention for article published in Malaria Journal, November 2014
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  • Above-average Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (53rd percentile)
  • Above-average Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (61st percentile)

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Title
Comparison of detection methods to estimate asexual Plasmodium falciparum parasite prevalence and gametocyte carriage in a community survey in Tanzania
Published in
Malaria Journal, November 2014
DOI 10.1186/1475-2875-13-433
Pubmed ID
Authors

Felista Mwingira, Blaise Genton, Abdu-Noor M Kabanywanyi, Ingrid Felger

Abstract

The use of molecular techniques to detect malaria parasites has been advocated to improve the accuracy of parasite prevalence estimates, especially in moderate to low endemic settings. Molecular work is time-consuming and costly, thus the effective gains of this technique need to be carefully evaluated. Light microscopy (LM) and rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) are commonly used to detect malaria infection in resource constrained areas, but their limited sensitivity results in underestimation of the proportion of people infected with Plasmodium falciparum. This study aimed to evaluate the extent of missed infections via a community survey in Tanzania, using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect P. falciparum parasites and gametocytes. Methods: Three hundred and thirty individuals of all ages from the Kilombero and Ulanga districts (Tanzania) were enrolled in a cross-sectional survey. Finger prick blood samples were collected for parasite detection by RDT, LM and molecular diagnosis using quantitative 18S rRNA PCR and msp2 nPCR. Gametocytes were detected by LM and by amplifying transcripts of the gametocyte-specific marker pfs25. Results: Results from all three diagnostic methods were available for a subset of 226 individuals. Prevalence of P. falciparum was 38% (86/226; 95% CI 31.9-44.4%) by qPCR, 15.9% (36/226; 95% CI 11.1-20.7%) by RDT and 5.8% (13/226; 95% CI 2.69- 8.81%) by LM. qPCR was positive for 72% (26/36) of the RDT-positive samples. Gametocyte prevalence was 10.6% (24/226) by pfs25-qRT-PCR and 1.2% by LM. Conclusions: LM showed the poorest performance, detecting only 15% of P. falciparum parasite carriers identified by PCR. Thus, LM is not a sufficiently accurate technique from which to inform policies and malaria control or elimination efforts. The diagnostic performance of RDT was superior to that of LM. However, it is also insufficient when precise prevalence data are needed for monitoring intervention success or for determining point prevalence rates in countrywide surveillance. Detection of gametocytes by PCR was 10-times more sensitive than by LM. These findings support the need for molecular techniques to accurately estimate the human infectious reservoir and hence the transmission potential in a population.

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Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 87 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Tanzania, United Republic of 2 2%
Ghana 1 1%
United Kingdom 1 1%
Unknown 83 95%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 22 25%
Student > Master 20 23%
Student > Bachelor 11 13%
Researcher 10 11%
Student > Postgraduate 4 5%
Other 8 9%
Unknown 12 14%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 18 21%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 16 18%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 7 8%
Immunology and Microbiology 7 8%
Nursing and Health Professions 6 7%
Other 16 18%
Unknown 17 20%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 03 July 2015.
All research outputs
#12,845,976
of 22,771,140 outputs
Outputs from Malaria Journal
#3,102
of 5,555 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#168,652
of 362,492 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Malaria Journal
#39
of 100 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 22,771,140 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,555 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 6.8. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 362,492 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 53% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 100 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 61% of its contemporaries.