ArticlePloS one2025
MALDI-TOF MS for malaria vector surveillance: A cost-comparison analysis using a decision-tree approach.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe use of MALDI-TOF MS for mosquito identification and surveillance is routinely used in developed countries as an affordable alternative to molecular methods. However, in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) where mosquito-borne diseases carry the greatest burden, the method is not commonly employed. Using the Kenyan national malaria program (NMCP) as a case study, we compared the costs of current methods used for malaria vector surveillance to those that would be incurred if MALDI-TOF MS were used instead.
methodsA deterministic decision tree analytic model was developed to systematically calculate the costs associated with materials and labour, and time-to-results for two workflows, i.e., current molecular methods versus MALDI-TOF MS. The analysis assumed an annual sample size of 15,000 mosquitoes (representing the average number of mosquitoes analysed annually by the Kenyan NMCP) processed at a local laboratory in Kenya.
findingsWe estimate that if the Kenyan national entomological surveillance program shifted sample processing completely to MALDI-TOF MS, it would result in 74.48% net time saving, up to 84% on material costs and 77% on labour costs, resulting in an overall direct cost savings of 83%.
interpretationAdoption of MALDI-TOF MS for malaria vector surveillance can result in substantial time and cost savings. The ease of performance, the rapid turn-around time, and the modest cost per sample may bring a paradigm shift in routine entomological surveillance in Africa.
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.