Point-of-care tests for malaria: speeding up the diagnostics at the bedside and challenges in malaria cases detection

Malaria remains as one of the major public health problems worldwide. About 228 million cases occurred in 2018 only, with Africa bearing about 93% of the cases. Asymptomatic population carrying the various forms of the parasite Plasmodium in endemic areas plays an important role in the spread of the disease. To tackle this battle, more sensitive and precise detection kits for malaria are crucial to better control the number of new malaria cases. In this review, we not only discuss some of the available approaches to rapidly detect new malaria cases in endemic areas but also shed light on parallel problems that may affect the detection of individuals infected with the parasite, covering kelch 13 mutation, glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, and hemoglobin disorders. Available approaches for malaria detection covered in this review are focused on point-of-care tests, including portable polymerase chain reaction and aptamers. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.