Abstract

A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN MICROSCOPY, PARACHEK AND NESTED PCR FOR DIAGNOSIS OF MALARIA IN NORTH EASTERN PART OF INDIA

*Lalit Prashant Meena, Senthil Raja M, Anju Bharti, Gopal Nath, Kamlakar Tripathi

ABSTRACT

Background: High sensitivity of diagnosis in malaria endemic zone is especially important for the most vulnerable population groups, such as children and the immune deficient population, in whom the disease can be rapidly fatal. Methods: Total 100 patients with age more than 14 years with clinical diagnosis of malaria were included in study. Blood samples of the patients were subjected to Giemsa stain Microscopy, Parachek and Nested PCR. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy of microscopy as compared to the Nested PCR were 83.78 %, 100%,100%,68.42% and 88% respectively, while on comparing parachek with Nested PCR sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy were 82.43 %, 88.46%,95.3%,63.89%,84% respectively. Conclusion: Nested PCR detection of malaria parasites can be a very useful complement to microscopical examination in order to obtain the correct diagnosis and also for the follow-up of patients after specific treatment.

Keywords: Giemsa stain Microscopy, Parachek and Nested PCR.