Evaluation of a rapid antigen capture assay for the diagnosis of falciparum malaria

A study was carried out to evaluate the accuracy of a dipstick antigen capture assay for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum histidine rich protein II antigen (Pf HRP-II) in peripheral blood to diagnose P. falciparum malaria. The sensitivity and specificity of the test was found to be 97 and 100 per cent respectively. The persistence of the antigen varied from 5 to 15 days after initiation of antimalarial therapy. The assay was simple to perform, rapid and easy to interpret. However, infection due to other species of human malaria parasites cannot be detected by this dipstick assay. Use of more sensitive technique like polymerase chain reaction (PCR) would help in diagnosing cases with low parasitaemia and infection due to other plasmodial species.