ArticlePloS one2015
Low parasitemia in submicroscopic infections significantly impacts malaria diagnostic sensitivity in the highlands of Western Kenya.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 2 of them syntheses 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence and associated factors of malaria among the displaced population in refugee camps in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Malaria journal · 2025Pooled it
- Malaria prevalence in Mauritania: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Malaria journal · 2023Pooled it
- Efficacy of Praziquantel for Treatment of Plasmodium falciparum Infection in Asymptomatic Gabonese Adults: A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Malaria Parasitemia and Parasite Density in Antiretroviral-Treated HIV-Infected Adults Following Discontinuation of Cotrimoxazole Prophylaxis.The Journal of infectious diseases · 2017Trial
- Trial
- Current practices and innovative diagnostics for Malaria in Ethiopia: a scoping review.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Article
- Diagnostic challenges in malaria detection: A comparative diagnostic performance of HRP2-based rapid diagnostic tests, microscopy, and PCR at Bichena primary hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.Parasite epidemiology and control · 2026Article
- Uncovering silent malaria reservoirs in Southern Ethiopia: community-based molecular detection of asymptomatic and sub-microscopic infections and their implications for diagnosis and control.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Field and laboratory evaluation of Abbott-Bioline™ Malaria Ag Pf/Pv RDT performance in a high-transmission setting: contrasting results with a low-endemic area.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Burden and determinants of asymptomatic malaria among adults living in urban and rural areas in Gabon in 2023: a community-based cross-sectional study.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Challenges in Diagnosing and Treating Acutely Febrile Children with Suspected Malaria at Health Care Facilities in the Lake Mwanza Region of Tanzania.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2024Article
- A novel sensitive hexaplex high-resolution melt assay for identification of five human Plasmodium species plus internal control.Acta tropica · 2023Article
- Diagnostic performance of ultrasensitive rapid diagnostic test for the detection of Plasmodium falciparum infections in asymptomatic individuals in Kisangani, Northeast Democratic Republic of Congo.Malaria journal · 2023Article
- Distribution of Plasmodium falciparum K13 gene polymorphisms across transmission settings in Ghana.BMC infectious diseases · 2023Article
- Key considerations, target product profiles, and research gaps in the application of infrared spectroscopy and artificial intelligence for malaria surveillance and diagnosis.Malaria journal · 2023Review
- Implementing landscape genetics in molecular epidemiology to determine drivers of vector-borne disease: A malaria case study.Molecular ecology · 2023Article
- Plasmodium vivax: the potential obstacles it presents to malaria elimination and eradication.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2022Review
- Impact of Environmental Modifications on the Ecology, Epidemiology, and Pathogenesis of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax Malaria in East Africa.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2022Article
- Field Evaluation of a Hemozoin-Based Malaria Diagnostic Device in Puerto Lempira, Honduras.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Asymptomatic malaria infections represent a major challenge in malaria control and elimination in Africa. They are reservoirs of malaria parasite that can contribute to disease transmission. Therefore, identification and control of asymptomatic infections are important to make malaria elimination feasible. In this study, we investigated the extent and distribution of asymptomatic malaria in Western Kenya and examined how varying parasitemia affects performance of diagnostic methods including microscopy, conventional PCR, and quantitative PCR. In addition, we compared parasite prevalence rates and parasitemia levels with respect to topography and age in order to explore factors that influence malaria infection. Over 11,000 asymptomatic blood samples from children and adolescents up to 18 years old representing broad areas of Western Kenya were included. Quantitative PCR revealed the highest parasite positive rate among all methods and malaria prevalence in western Kenya varied widely from less than 1% to over 50%. A significantly lower parasitemia was detected in highland than in lowland samples and this contrast was also observed primarily among submicroscopic samples. Although we found no correlation between parasitemia level and age, individuals of younger age group (aged <14) showed significantly higher parasite prevalence. In the lowlands, individuals of aged 5-14 showed significantly higher prevalence than those under age 5. Our findings highlight the need for a more sensitive and time-efficient assay for asymptomatic malaria detection particularly in areas of low-transmission. Combining QPCR with microscopy can enhance the capacity of detecting submicroscopic asymptomatic malaria infections.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.