July 5, 2011 When a person living in a malarial area gets a
fever, health workers need to know the cause to make absolutely
sure they give the right treatment. For many years in sub-
Saharan Africa primary health workers have often assumed a fever
is caused by malaria, and given antimalarial drugs. This
approach means sometimes people receive the wrong treatment for
their illness. It also wastes resources and, over time, can
promote resistance to available drugs. A new Cochrane Systematic
Review examines the accuracy of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs),
which are designed to detect malaria based on the presence of
parasite antigens, using a quick and easy to use format. The
World Health Organization (WHO), now strongly recommends health
staff confirm a malaria diagnosis prior to treatment with
artemisinin combination therapies (ACT's), but in many settings,
this demands a major shift in practice and is not as easy as it
may seem to adopt. Up until recently, confirming a diagnosis of
malaria infection was done by