ArticlePloS one2012
Surveillance for malaria elimination in Swaziland: a national cross-sectional study using pooled PCR and serology.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 66 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Evaluating the Effectiveness and Feasibility of Reactive Focal Mass Drug Administration vs. Reactive Case Detection as a Community Level Intervention in Response to a Passively Identified Index Malaria Case in Swaziland
Targeted Parasite Elimination in the Human and Mosquito to Reduce Malaria Transmission: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Factorial Design Trial of Reactive Focal Drug Administration (rfMDA) Versus Reactive Case Detection (RACD), With and Without Reactive Vector Control (RAVC), From the Low Endemic Setting of Namibia
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 89 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review on malaria sero-epidemiology studies in the Brazilian Amazon: insights into immunological markers for exposure and protection.Malaria journal · 2017Pooled it
- Geographical patterns of malaria transmission based on serological markers for falciparum and vivax malaria in Ratanakiri, Cambodia.Malaria journal · 2016Trial
- Is housing quality associated with malaria incidence among young children and mosquito vector numbers? Evidence from Korogwe, Tanzania.PloS one · 2014Trial
- Mass treatment with azithromycin for trachoma: when is one round enough? Results from the PRET Trial in the Gambia.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2013Trial
- Occupations at high risk for malaria in Zanzibar: a case-control study, may-august 2023.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Evaluation of dried blood spot sampling for real-time PCR malaria diagnostics in a rural setting in Angola.Parasites & vectors · 2025Article
- The mediating role of behavioural and socio-structural factors on the association between household wealth and childhood malaria in Ghana.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Malaria Transmission at The Zimbabwe-Mozambique Border: An Observational Study of Parasitemia by Travel History and Household Location.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Observational
- Clinical performance of AI-integrated risk assessment pooling reveals cost savings even at high prevalence of COVID-19.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Implementation of large-scale pooled testing to increase rapid molecular diagnostic test coverage for tuberculosis: a retrospective evaluation.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Risk factors associated with malaria infection along China-Myanmar border: a case-control study.Malaria journal · 2022Article
- The primate malaria parasites Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium brasilianum and Plasmodium ovale spp.: genomic insights into distribution, dispersal and host transitions.Malaria journal · 2022Review
- Quantification of the dynamics of antibody response to malaria to inform sero-surveillance in pregnant women.Malaria journal · 2022Article
- Article
- Using viral load and epidemic dynamics to optimize pooled testing in resource-constrained settings.Science translational medicine · 2021Article
- Performance evaluation of the highly sensitive histidine-rich protein 2 rapid test for plasmodium falciparum malaria in North-West Tanzania.Malaria journal · 2021Article
- Using viral load and epidemic dynamics to optimize pooled testing in resource constrained settings.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2021Article
- Malaria risk factors in northern Namibia: The importance of occupation, age and mobility in characterizing high-risk populations.PloS one · 2021Article
- Prevention of re-establishment of malaria: historical perspective and future prospects.Malaria journal · 2020Review
- Active Case Finding for Malaria: A 3-Year National Evaluation of Optimal Approaches to Detect Infections and Hotspots Through Reactive Case Detection in the Low-transmission Setting of Eswatini.Clinical infectious diseases : an official publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America · 2020Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTo guide malaria elimination efforts in Swaziland and other countries, accurate assessments of transmission are critical. Pooled-PCR has potential to efficiently improve sensitivity to detect infections; serology may clarify temporal and spatial trends in exposure. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsUsing a stratified two-stage cluster, cross-sectional design, subjects were recruited from the malaria endemic region of Swaziland. Blood was collected for rapid diagnostic testing (RDT), pooled PCR, and ELISA detecting antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum surface antigens. Of 4330 participants tested, three were RDT-positive yet false positives by PCR. Pooled PCR led to the identification of one P. falciparum and one P. malariae infection among RDT-negative participants. The P. falciparum-infected participant reported recent travel to Mozambique. Compared to performing individual testing on thousands of samples, PCR pooling reduced labor and consumable costs by 95.5%. Seropositivity was associated with age ≥20 years (11·7% vs 1·9%, P<0.001), recent travel to Mozambique (OR 4.4 [95% CI 1.0-19.0]) and residence in southeast Swaziland (RR 3.78, P<0.001).
conclusionsThe prevalence of malaria infection and recent exposure in Swaziland are extremely low, suggesting elimination is feasible. Future efforts should address imported malaria and target remaining foci of transmission. Pooled PCR and ELISA are valuable surveillance tools for guiding elimination efforts.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.