Learn more: PMC Disclaimer | PMC Copyright Notice
Use and limitations of light microscopy for diagnosing malaria at the primary health care level
Abstract
Recent developments in diagnostic techniques for malaria, particularly DNA probes and sero-immunology, have raised questions as to how these techniques might be used to facilitate malaria diagnosis at the most peripheral levels of the primary health care system. At present, malaria diagnosis is based on the light microscope and is likely to remain so in the immediate future. This article describes how the diagnosis of malaria by light microscopy has been improved over the years, and expresses the need for further improvement while concomitant research into other standardized and simplified techniques for the diagnosis of malaria is vigorously pursued.
Full text
Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (896K), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References.
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Dowling MA, Shute GT. A comparative study of thick and thin blood films in the diagnosis of scanty malaria parasitaemia. Bull World Health Organ. 1966;34(2):249–267. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- WORTH RM. THE HEPARINIZED CAPILLARY TUBE AS AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC TOOL. II. CONCENTRATION OF BLOOD PARASITES BY CENTRIFUGATION. Am J Hyg. 1964 Jul;80:70–74. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Pettyjohn FS. Centrifuge techniques in the preparation of malaria thin blood smears. Mil Med. 1975 Aug;140(8):535–537. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Shute GT, Sodeman TM. Identification of malaria parasites by fluorescence microscopy and acridine orange staining. Bull World Health Organ. 1973 May;48(5):591–596. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jamjoom GA. Dark-field microscopy for detection of malaria in unstained blood films. J Clin Microbiol. 1983 May;17(5):717–721. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Raghavan K. Statistical considerations in the microscopical diagnosis of Malaria, with special reference to the role of cross-checking. Bull World Health Organ. 1966;34(5):788–791. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]