By Dr. Chandrasekhar Nair
Malaria remains a devastating global health problem. It is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by parasitic protozoans of the genus Plasmodium and is transmitted by the bite of the infected female Anopheles mosquito. Of the five Plasmodium species studied to cause disease in humans, P. vivax (Pv) and P. falciparum (Pf) are the most prevalent and responsible for over 95% of the infections. The disease is widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, such as sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In the body of the human, the parasites increase in the liver and then affect red blood cells. Malaria causes symptoms typically include fever with chills, tiredness, nausea, and headache and severe Malaria complications include cerebral Malaria, pulmonary edema, acute renal failure, severe anemia, and/or bleeding. Any of these complications can develop rapidly and progress to serious illness within hours or days. Malaria is preventable and curable. Early, accurate, and differential diagnosis of P. vivax and P. falciparum malaria is requisite to commence the appropriate treatment, check transmission of the disease, and forestall death.
The WHO Strategic Development Goals for eradication of Malaria by 2030 require an acceleration of the laid-out action plan. While RDTs for Malaria Diagnosis have been a game-changer in diagnosing the disease, more sensitive methods, including molecular tools, are needed for an elimination program. Scaling up of the vaccination program along with the existing tools for malaria prevention and treatment, including interventions that reduce human–vector contacts like indoor residual spraying (IRS) or use of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLINs), intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women (IPTp), and increased surveillance efforts would form key focus areas for action.
An early and accurate diagnosis of Malaria is very important for global malaria control. Molecular-biological techniques that provide a highly sensitive and specific diagnosis with speciation would be an important tool for the elimination program. The increased sensitivity of testing is critical for early diagnosis, especially in areas of low prevalence and at low parasite loads, typical of an elimination program.
The Truenat® Real Time PCR technology is one such technology that brings PCR technology right to the point of need. Truenat® is a novel, rapid, point of care molecular testing platform. The ability to perform PCR on demand, in laboratory settings at all levels of healthcare, including primary health Centers as well as near-patient, in field settings, helps decentralize and democratize access to molecular diagnostics. The wide availability of this platform in the public health system in India and other countries around the world could be leveraged to be a powerful tool for Malaria elimination.
Truenat® Malaria test ensures early and accurate differential diagnosis of P. vivax and P. falciparum malaria and appropriate initiation of treatment on the same day of presentation. This not only helps in better patient results but also stops the further transmission of the disease.
With the capability of diagnosing over 30 diseases, Truenat® continues to work towards addressing the critical need gap for reliable technologies that can enable early and accurate diagnosis of neglected diseases in underserved settings.
(The author is a Director & Chief Technical Officer (CTO), Molbio Diagnostics. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of FinancialExpress.com.)
