The World Health Organization (WHO) has added 16 more malaria diagnostic tests to its approved list to help health workers quickly identify which patients have malaria and need immediate treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has added 16 more malaria diagnostic tests to its approved list to help health workers quickly identify which patients have malaria and need immediate treatment. The United Nations (UN) health body assessed 29 rapid tests from a range of different manufacturers and found that 16 of them met minimum performance criteria.
Around 40 percent of the world's population is at risk of malaria, a potentially deadly disease transmitted via mosquito bites. It kills around nine lakh people a year globally, most of them children in Africa. There are also cases in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Europe.
Robert Newman, director of WHO's Global Malaria Programme said that these rapid tests have been a major breakthrough in malaria control as they would allow the testing of people who cannot access diagnosis based on microscopy in remote, rural areas where the majority of malaria occurs.
WHO malaria guidelines call for diagnosis using either microscopy or rapid tests before treatment in all suspected malaria cases, but in 2008, only 22 percent of suspected cases were tested in 18 of 35 African countries that reported data. The new rapid tests would also improve overall childhood survival, a key UN development goal.
The best treatments for malaria are artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), but they can also be expensive. Resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, the cheapest malaria drugs, is becoming more common.
Around 40 percent of the world's population is at risk of malaria, a potentially deadly disease transmitted via mosquito bites. It kills around nine lakh people a year globally, most of them children in Africa. There are also cases in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Europe.
Robert Newman, director of WHO's Global Malaria Programme said that these rapid tests have been a major breakthrough in malaria control as they would allow the testing of people who cannot access diagnosis based on microscopy in remote, rural areas where the majority of malaria occurs.
WHO malaria guidelines call for diagnosis using either microscopy or rapid tests before treatment in all suspected malaria cases, but in 2008, only 22 percent of suspected cases were tested in 18 of 35 African countries that reported data. The new rapid tests would also improve overall childhood survival, a key UN development goal.
The best treatments for malaria are artemisinin combination therapy (ACT), but they can also be expensive. Resistance to chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, the cheapest malaria drugs, is becoming more common.
COMMENT
DoctorNDTV is the one stop site for all your health needs providing the most credible health information, health news and tips with expert advice on healthy living, diet plans, informative videos etc. You can get the most relevant and accurate info you need about health problems like diabetes, cancer, pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, weight loss and many other lifestyle diseases. We have a panel of over 350 experts who help us develop content by giving their valuable inputs and bringing to us the latest in the world of healthcare.
