TY - JOUR
T1 - Laboratory diagnosis of malaria in the North West Region of Cameroon: analysis of limitations
AU - Ndofor, Eric
AU - van Gool, Tom
AU - Gillis, Henk
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Malaria is still rife and perennial in Cameroon despite remarkable progress in controlling the disease. About 95% of the country is malaria endemic. Prompt and accurate diagnosis of malaria may lead to improved patient care and reduced morbidity. This paper analyses limitations in malaria diagnosis in the North West Region of Cameroon and opportunities for improvement. The sample units were 40 laboratories in governmental health facilities (GHFs) selected by cluster (Health Districts) and stratified sampling. The three categories of GHFs in the Region - Hospitals, District Medical Centres (Centre Médical d'Arrondissement [CMAs]) and Integrated Health Centres (IHCs) - were strata in the sample. With pre-tested interviewer-administered structured questionnaires and visits to laboratories, mechanical and optical components of microscopes and malaria diagnostic techniques were studied systematically and in detail. The main finding was that locally prepared Giemsa-stained malaria smears were of unusable quality in 52 and 46% of GHFs for thick and thin smears respectively. Some loss of quality was observed in laboratories with good and moderate quality smears. The quality of malaria diagnosis was not optimal and GHFs did not have sufficient tools and resources to overcome loss of quality. Nonetheless, limitations in malaria diagnosis in the Region can be corrected
AB - Malaria is still rife and perennial in Cameroon despite remarkable progress in controlling the disease. About 95% of the country is malaria endemic. Prompt and accurate diagnosis of malaria may lead to improved patient care and reduced morbidity. This paper analyses limitations in malaria diagnosis in the North West Region of Cameroon and opportunities for improvement. The sample units were 40 laboratories in governmental health facilities (GHFs) selected by cluster (Health Districts) and stratified sampling. The three categories of GHFs in the Region - Hospitals, District Medical Centres (Centre Médical d'Arrondissement [CMAs]) and Integrated Health Centres (IHCs) - were strata in the sample. With pre-tested interviewer-administered structured questionnaires and visits to laboratories, mechanical and optical components of microscopes and malaria diagnostic techniques were studied systematically and in detail. The main finding was that locally prepared Giemsa-stained malaria smears were of unusable quality in 52 and 46% of GHFs for thick and thin smears respectively. Some loss of quality was observed in laboratories with good and moderate quality smears. The quality of malaria diagnosis was not optimal and GHFs did not have sufficient tools and resources to overcome loss of quality. Nonetheless, limitations in malaria diagnosis in the Region can be corrected
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trt025
DO - https://doi.org/10.1093/trstmh/trt025
M3 - Article
C2 - 23479359
SN - 0035-9203
VL - 107
SP - 341
EP - 348
JO - Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
JF - Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
IS - 6
ER -