Korean J Clin Pathol.  2001 Feb;21(1):67-71.

Evaluation of LG Malaria Anti-PvTM for Diagnosis of Plasmodium vivax Malaria in the Republic of Korea

• Chung JY
• Kim MY
• Lim KJ
• Sohn MJ
• Kho WG

Abstract

BACKGROUND
In the Republic of Korea, Plasmodium vivax malaria, which had disappeared since 1984, re-emerged in 1993. Currently, malaria is becoming a serious public health problem in the Republic of Korea. The diagnosis of malaria has relied on microscopic examination such as thin and thick blood smears. However, even for expert microscopists, this test is a laborious and time-consuming procedure. Therefore, the development of a reliable, easy, and convenient diagnostic test is crucial. Recently, the LG malaria anti-PvTM enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for the detection of a specific antibody against the merozoite surface protein (MSP) of P. vivax was developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic kit for P. vivax malaria in the Republic of Korea.
METHODS
To determine the usefulness of the LG malaria anti-PvTM as a diagnostic kit for vivax malaria, a total of 59 serum samples from patients with P. vivax malaria were tested. The patients were diagnosed microscopically and the parasitemia index of their blood was calculated. Sera from 203 uninfected healthy blood donors, which were microscopically negative for Plasmodium vivax, were used as negative controls.
RESULTS
The sensitivity and specificity of the LG malaria anti-PvTM were 98.31% (58/59) and 98.03% (199/203), respectively. The false-positive and false-negative rates were 1.97% (4/203) and 1.69% (1/59), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The diagnostic kit, LG malaria anti-PvTM, might be a useful tool for diagnosis and screening of P. vivax malaria in Korea.

Keyword

Malaria; Plasmodium vivax; Diagnosis; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Korea

MeSH Terms

Blood Donors
Diagnosis*
Diagnostic Tests, Routine
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Humans
Korea
Malaria*
Malaria, Vivax*
Mass Screening
Merozoites
Parasitemia
Plasmodium vivax*
Plasmodium*
Public Health
Republic of Korea*
Sensitivity and Specificity