Despite longstanding public health efforts to control malaria, a resurgence of the disease has occurred in recentyears, and infection with the parasite that causes malaria is responsible for significant morbidity and mortality indeveloping countries. Microscopy is the best-known test for diagnosis of malaria; however, it is becoming increasinglyevident that microscopic diagnosis of malaria is not feasible in all parts of the developing world due to financial andtechnical constraints. These problems, as well as the failure of other malaria control interventions, are creating a demandfor better diagnostic technologies at both national and international program levels. Equal Access to Scientific Excellence(E.A.S.E.), a small business specializing in developing and manufacturing immunoassays, proposes to develop a low-cost,accurate, and simple one- step test for use in clinical diagnosis, especially at the peripheral and intermediate health-carelevels. The specific technology that will be developed is an immunochromatographic test strip that provides a semiquantitative diagnosis of Plasmodium falciparum from blood specimens.
Thesaurus Terms:Plasmodium falciparum, blood test, communicable disease diagnosis, diagnosis design /evaluation, malaria colloid, diagnosis quality /standard, rapid diagnosis immunoaffinity chromatography, lyophilization, monoclonal antibody
