Journal article

How much remains undetected? probability of molecular detection of human Plasmodia in the field

C Koepfli, S Schoepflin, M Bretscher, E Lin, B Kiniboro, PA Zimmerman, P Siba, TA Smith, I Mueller, I Felger

Plos One | Published : 2011

Abstract

Background: In malaria endemic areas, most people are simultaneously infected with different parasite clones. Detection of individual clones is hampered when their densities fluctuate around the detection limit and, in case of P. falciparum, by sequestration during part of their life cycle. This has important implications for measures of levels of infection or for the outcome of clinical trials. This study aimed at measuring the detectability of individual P. falciparum and P. vivax parasite clones in consecutive samples of the same patient and at investigating the impact of sampling strategies on basic epidemiological measures such as multiplicity of infection (MOI). Methods: Samples were o..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by Fogarty International Center


Funding Acknowledgements

The study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (www.snf.ch, grants no: 31003A-112196, 320030_125316/1) and the National Institute of Health (www.nih.gov, grants no: AI063135, TW007872). SS was supported by the Forlen Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.