Lack of knowledge regarding the microscopic diagnosis of malaria by technicians of the laboratory network in Luanda, Angola
Abstract
Introduction: Malaria is still one of the most important public health problems worldwide. The diagnosis of this disease is still mainly based on thick blood films. Objective: To evaluate the knowledge about malaria diagnosis of the technicians of the public health network in Luanda, Angola, by means of a survey. Materials and methods: This survey was carried out in three phases. In the first one, open interviews were done to technicians related with the different procedures for malaria diagnosis. In the second one, a preliminary questionnaire was prepared and evaluated. In the third phase, a definitive questionnaire was applied to 120 technicians from Luanda between April and July, 2013. The proportions of correct and incorrect answers were compared for every question of the survey. Results: Significantly higher proportions of incorrect answers (p<0.05) were found in the questions related to clinical manifestations, 68/52 (p<0.05), species of Plasmodium according to geographical areas, 76/44 (p<0.05), the type of granulations according to species, 96/24 (p<0.01), the class of microscope magnifying glasses used to observe the thick smear, 105/15 (p<0.01), the thick smear report, 76/44 (p<0.01), the time and preparation of different stain solutions, 81/39 (p<0.01), and the number of parasites counted per 200 leukocytes, 96/24 (p<0.01). Conclusions: Various failures for the microscopic diagnosis of malaria were observed amongst the evaluated technicians. These results will be useful as a baseline study before applying an educational intervention aimed to improve the quality of malaria diagnosis in Luanda’s laboratory network.
Downloads
References
Linder N, Turkki R, Walliander M, Mårtensson A, Diwan V, Rahtu E, et al . A malaria diagnostic tool based on computer vision screening and visualization of Plasmodium falciparum candidate areas in digitized blood smears. PLoS One. 2014;9:e104855. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104855
Organization Mondiale de la Santé. Techniques de base pour le diagnostic microscopique du paludisme. Guide du stagiaire. Partie II. Guide de l´instructeur. Genéve: OMS; 2010. p. 7-57.
Organization Mondiale de la Santé. Comité OMS d´Experts du paludisme. Dix-huitième rapport. Genéve: OMS; 2013. p. 8-17.
Fortes F, Dimbu R, Neto Z, Ferreira C, Saraiva N, Do Rosário VE, et al . Estudo comparativo entre microscopia óptica e PCR para identificação de Plasmodium spp. em crianças em Angola. Ciência e Tecnologia. 2011;2:17-27.
World Health Organization. Self- learning materials and modules for health workers. A guide for their development, utilization and evaluation. Geneva: WHO; 2013. p. 10-28.
Llop A, Valdés-Dapena M, Zuaso JL. Microbiología y Parasitología Médicas. Primera edición. Tomo 3. La Habana: Editorial Ciencias Médicas; 2001. p. 117-85.
Reyburn H, Mbatia R, Drakeley C, Carneiro I, Mwakasungula E, Mwerinde O. Overdiagnosis of malaria in patients with febrile illness in Tanzania: A prospective s tudy. BMJ. 2004;329:1212. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38251.658229.55
Coleman RE, Maneechai N, Rachaphaew N, Kumpitak C, Miller RS, Soyseng V, et al. Comparison of field and expert laboratory microscopy for active surveillance for asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax in western Thailand. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2002;67:141-4.
Milne L, Kyi MS, Chiodini PL, Warhurst DC. Accuracy of routine laboratory diagnosis of malaria in the United Kingdom. J ClinPathol. 1994;47:740-2.
Bailey JW, Williams J, Bain BJ, Parker-Williams J, Chiodini PL. Guideline: The laboratory diagnosis of malaria. General Haematology Task Force of the British Committee for Standards in Haematology . Br J Haematol. 2013;163:573-80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjh.12572
Abreha T, Alemayehu B, Tadesse Y, Gebresillassie S, Tadesse A, Demeke L, et al . Malaria diagnostic capacity in health facilities in Ethiopia. Malar J. 2014;13:292. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-13-292
Maklet MT, Palmer CJ, Agger AL. A r eview of practical techniques for the diagnosis of malaria. Ann Trop Med Parasitol. 1998;92:419-33.
Ginorio D, Ortega S, Rojas L, Marín H, Oviedo A. Control de la calidad del diagnóstico de paludismo en la provincia de Cienfuegos, Cuba. Rev Cubana Med Trop. 2004;56: 49- 53.
Hemme F, Gay F. Internal quality control of the malaria microscopy diagnosis for 10 laboratories on the Thai-Myanmar border. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 1998;29:529-36.
Rowe AK, de León GF, Mihigo J, Santelli AC, Miller NP, van-Dúnem P. Quality of malaria case management at outpatient health facilities in Angola. Malar J. 2009;8:275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-8-275
Hailegiorgis B, Girma S, Mezlaku S, Teshi T, Demeke L, Gebresellasie S, et al . Laboratory malaria diagnostic capacity in health facilities in five administrative zones of Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. Trop Med Int Health. 2010;15:1449-57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2010.02646.x
Keating J, Miller JM, Bennett A, Moonga HB, Eisele TP. Plasmodium falciparum parasite infection prevalence from a household survey in Zambia using microscopy and a rapid diagnostic test: Implications for monitoring and evaluation. Acta Trop. 2009;112:277-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2009.08.011
Mukadi P, Gillet P, Lukuka A, Atua B, Kahodi S, Lokombe J, et al . External quality assessment of malaria microscopy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Malar J. 2011;10:308. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1475-2875-10-308
Kyabayinze DJ, Achan J, Nakanjako D, Mpeka B, Mawejje H, Mugizi R, et al . Parasite-based malaria diagnosis: Are health systems in Uganda equipped enough to implement the policy? BMC Public Health. 2012;12:695. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-695
Some similar items:
- Astrid Elena Montoya, José Menco, Natalia Osorio, Maria Alejandra Zuluaga, Juliana Duque, Giovanny Torres, Marcos Restrepo, Concordance between thick blood smear, immunochromatography and polymerase chain reaction for malaria diagnosis , Biomedica: Vol. 28 No. 2 (2008)
- Nohora Marcela Mendoza, Marisol García, Liliana Jazmín Cortés, Claudia Vela, Rigoberto Erazo, Pilar Pérez, Olga Lucía Ospina, Javier Darío Burgos, Evaluation of two rapid diagnostic tests, NOW® ICT Malaria Pf/Pv and OptiMAL®, for diagnosis of malaria , Biomedica: Vol. 27 No. 4 (2007)
- Adriana Pabón, Gonzalo Álvarez, Jorge Yánez, Carlos Céspedes, Yensa Rodríguez, Ángela Restrepo, Silvia Blair, Evaluation of ICT malaria immunochromatographic Binax NOW® ICT P.f/P.v test for rapid diagnosis of malaria in a Colombian endemic area , Biomedica: Vol. 27 No. 2 (2007)
- Nohora Marcela Mendoza, Ángel Martín Rosas, Javier Darío Burgos, Evaluation of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria in Colombia as an integral part of the disease control strategy , Biomedica: Vol. 31 No. 1 (2011)
- Arletta Añez, Marco Fidel Suárez, Jorge Cuba, Factors that delay malaria diagnosis and treatment in the municipality of Riberalta in Bolivia , Biomedica: Vol. 32 (2012): Suplemento 1, Malaria
- Olga Lucía Ospina, Liliana Jazmín Cortés, Zulma Milena Cucunubá, Nohora Marcela Mendoza, Pablo Chaparro, Characterization of the National Malaria Diagnostic Network, Colombia, 2006-2010 , Biomedica: Vol. 32 (2012): Suplemento 1, Malaria
- Ricardo Cendales, Constanza Pardo, Claudia Uribe, Guillermo López, María Clara Yépez, Luis Eduardo Bravo, Data quality at population-based cancer registries in Colombia , Biomedica: Vol. 32 No. 4 (2012)
- Jaime Alberto López, Mónica Cecilia Cuartas, Olga Lucía Molina, Ana Cristina Restrepo, Claudia Yarely Maya, Sergio Jaramillo, Development of a record-keeping strategy for improvement of information retention in microbiological processing. , Biomedica: Vol. 24 No. 3 (2004)
- Nohora Marcela Mendoza, Nohora Elizabeth González, Performance assessment employing slide sets: A tool for the classification of senior microscopists from Colombia’s Malaria Control Program , Biomedica: Vol. 35 No. 4 (2015)
- Liliana Jazmín Cortés, Lyda Muñoz, Martha Stella Ayala, Comparison of methodologies for microscopic malaria diagnosis , Biomedica: Vol. 38 No. 2 (2018)
| Article metrics | |
|---|---|
| Abstract views | |
| Galley vies | |
| PDF Views | |
| HTML views | |
| Other views | |
