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Malaria is a major public health problem in South and Central Asia. Unlike in Africa, vivax malaria — which is rarely fatal — is more common than falciparum, and viral and bacterial infections are more common causes of fever than malaria. A combination of inaccurate clinical diagnoses and poor microscopy availability has led to overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Could use of a rapid diagnostic test (RDT) that detects species-specific components and differentiates between Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum increase diagnostic accuracy, thereby increasing the proportion of properly treated patients and decreasing unnecessary antimalarial therapy?
To explore this question, researchers conducted a trial involving 22 clinics in two areas of Afghani…