Diagnostics for Asymptomatic Malaria
Bengaluru-based Jigsaw Bio Solutions and the Department of Biotechnology’s Bhubaneswar-based Institute of Life Sciences (ILS) formed a joint team of scientists and developed a method to make the fight against malaria easier. They have come up with a method that has the potential to overcome the problem of inadequate identification of asymptomatic carriers of Malaria.
The current method for the diagnosis of Malaria, surveillance of malaria control measures and for mass screening and treatment programs for the diseases, protein immunoassay-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and light microscopy are used. However, identifying about 30-50% of the “silent” reservoirs of the infection capable of transmitting the disease through mosquitoes that are frequently observed in asymptomatic carriers and are low-density infections typically having less than two parasites/microlitre is missed out by these tests. A major hurdle in malaria eradication programs is the identification of asymptomatic carriers in the endemic areas. There is a need for new diagnostic methods having higher sensitivity.
A new concept of genome mining that identifies identical multi-repeat sequences (IMRS) distributed throughout the malaria parasite genome and successfully targeted them to develop what is called an “ultra-sensitive” qPCR assay for malaria diagnosis was used in this
new study by a team of researchers led by the scientist from Institute of Life Sciences, Dr. V. Arun Nagaraj and from Jigsaw Bio Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Mr. Srinivasa Raju.From malaria-endemic regions in India, validation with clinical samples collected showed that those assays were about 20-100 times more than the traditional methods, they were highly sensitive. Submicroscopic samples could be detected. Than other high-sensitive methods, they were four to eight times better. Moreover, for the deadliest species of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, they were extremely specific. It also did not cross-react with another species that is far less virulent but the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria, the Plasmodium vivax species.
For the simultaneous identification of different species, there is a scope to develop multiplexed assays, said Dr. Nagaraj. “Diagnostics that are highly sensitive, point-of-care molecular diagnostics and lab-on-a-chip devices could be developed through our study and the microfluidic, isothermal, and miniaturized platforms can be explored. To diagnose other infectious diseases also, the IMRS approach can serve as a platform technology.”
In the endemic areas, identifying the asymptomatic carriers and clearing their infections is the goal as India has developed a National Framework for eliminating malaria by 2030. This could be achieved with the help of this new finding. The project was funded by the DBT’s Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.
Diagnostics for Asymptomatic Malaria – Source
