ArticleBMC infectious diseases2025
The burden and diagnostic challenges of subclinical Plasmodium falciparum infections in Southern Ghana.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Diagnostic accuracy of novel Biocredit species-specific LDH-based immunochromatographic assay for Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax detection: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC infectious diseases · 2026Pooled it
- Malaria: a review on its current epidemiological status and management strategies.Malaria journal · 2026Review
- False-positive and false-negative malaria rapid diagnostic test results: evidence from a nationally representative survey of children in Ghana.Malaria journal · 2026Article
- Hidden burden of malaria in pregnancy in hard-to-reach areas of Odisha, India: challenges to elimination and the case for integrating molecular surveillance.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMany national malaria elimination programmes (NMEP) are intensifying campaigns for malaria control and elimination. However, these efforts are constrained by the high prevalence of subclinical infections which may sustain local disease transmission. Detection and treatment of these subclinical and low-density infection is therefore crucial in monitoring progress towards malaria control and elimination. This study sought to determine the burden of subclinical infections in three districts in Ghana, the proportion that could be detected by rapid diagnostic test (RDT), and the occurrence of hrp2/hrp3 deletions which may impede diagnosis by HRP2-based RDTs.
methodsA community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted in the Nkwanta South, Sekyere South, and Ga South districts in Ghana. A total of 1134 whole blood samples were screened for malaria using HRP2-based rapid diagnostic test (RDT), expert microscopy, and varATS qPCR. Three hundred and four (304) P. falciparum positive samples were typed for hrp2/hrp3 deletions by digital PCR (dPCR).
resultsParasite prevalence was 57.1% by qPCR, 40.9% by RDT, and 8.4% by microscopy. Approximately, 33.8% (219/647) of infections were sub-patent. Compared to qPCR, the sensitivity of RDT was 65.7%, and specificity 91.9%, making it significantly more sensitive than microscopy (sensitivity 14.4%, specificity 99.4%). Parasite prevalence was highest in children aged 5-15 years (68.2%), followed by adults > 15 years (51.2%) and children < 5 years (45.3%). Prevalence also differed across the three districts, ranging from 44.0% (183/416) in Sekyere South, 55.8% (143/253) in Ga South, to 68.8% (321/466) in Nkwanta South. No hrp2 deletions were observed, and one sample (1/304) from Nkwanta South district carried hrp3 deletion.
conclusionThe high prevalence of subclinical malaria infections is likely to be a potential reservoir in sustaining malaria transmission. HRP2-based RDTs detected two-thirds of the subclinical infections. Given the absence of hrp2 deletions, community testing and treatment programs using highly sensitive HRP2-based RDTs could be a valuable strategy in detecting the parasite reservoir and potentially help in ensuring a sustainable decline in disease transmission.
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.