SynthesisMalaria journal2022
Detection of asymptomatic malaria in Asian countries: a meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy.
Synthesis in Malaria journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Burden of Asymptomatic Malaria Infection in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Exploring Barriers to Elimination and Prevention.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and proportion estimate of asymptomatic Plasmodium infection in Asia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2023Pooled it
- Mechanistic insights into subclinicaliScience · 2026Review
- Submicroscopic infections and two malaria vectors are major contributors to residual malaria in an Amazonian village in Peru.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Hotspot districts of persistentThe Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2025Article
- Reduction in Asymptomatic falciparum malaria infection amongst schoolchildren in three ecological zones of Ghana between 2017 and 2023.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- China's Malaria R&D Innovations: A Scoping Review from 2013-2023.China CDC weekly · 2025Article
- Prevalence and epidemiological characteristics of asymptomatic malaria in Sucre, Venezuela: a 2022 cross-sectional study.Malaria journal · 2025Article
- Profiling vivax malaria incidence, residual transmission, and risk factors using reactive case detection in low transmission settings of Ethiopia.Malaria journal · 2024Article
- Molecular tools are crucial for malaria elimination.Molecular biology reports · 2024Review
- Plasmodium vivax: the potential obstacles it presents to malaria elimination and eradication.Tropical diseases, travel medicine and vaccines · 2022Review
- Significance of nested PCR testing for the detection of low-density malaria infection amongst febrile patients from the Malaria Elimination Demonstration Project in Mandla, Madhya Pradesh, India.Malaria journal · 2022Article
- Factors Affecting the Performance of HRP2-Based Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests.Tropical medicine and infectious disease · 2022Review
- Rapid Visual Detection of Plasmodium Using Recombinase-Aided Amplification With Lateral Flow Dipstick Assay.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2022Article
- Subclinical malaria among pregnant women living in refugee settlements in Northern Uganda.Therapeutic advances in infectious diseaseArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundAchieving malaria elimination requires the targeting of the human reservoir of infection, including those patients with asymptomatic infection. The objective was to synthesise evidence on the accuracy of the rapid-onsite diagnostic tests (RDTs) and microscopy for the detection of asymptomatic malaria as part of the surveillance activities in Asian countries.
methodsThis was a meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy. Relevant studies that evaluated the diagnostic performance of RDTs and microscopy for detection of asymptomatic malaria were searched in health-related electronic databases. The methodological quality of the studies included was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool.
resultsTen studies assessing RDT and/or microscopy were identified. The diagnostic accuracies in all these studies were verified by PCR. Overall, the pooled sensitivities of RDT, as well as microscopy for detection of any malaria parasites in asymptomatic participants, were low, while their pooled specificities were almost ideal. For the detection of Plasmodium falciparum, pooled sensitivity by RDT (59%, 95%CI:16-91%) or microscopy (55%, 95%CI: 25-82%) were almost comparable. For detection of Plasmodium vivax, pooled sensitivity of RDT (51%, 95% CI:7-94%) had also the comparable accuracy of microscopy (54%, 95%CI,11-92%). Of note are the wide range of sensitivity and specificity.
conclusionThe findings of this meta-analysis suggest that RDTs and microscopy have limited sensitivity and are inappropriate for the detection of asymptomatic Plasmodium infections. Other methods including a combination of PCR-based strategies, Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) technique must be considered to target these infections, in order to achieve malaria elimination. However, more data is needed for the wide acceptance and feasibility of these approaches. Studies to explore the role of asymptomatic and sub-patent infections in the transmission of malaria are of critical importance and are recommended.
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