Rapid diagnostic test.
Also called RDT or antigen testing, this is a quick option when blood draws and smears aren't available. Blood taken from a prick on your finger is put on a test strip that changes color to show whether you have malaria or not.Specifically, these tests can detect severe anemia, hypoglycemia, renal failure, hyperbilirubinemia, and acid-base disturbances. Malaria parasites can be identified by examining under the microscope a drop of the patient's blood, spread out as a “blood smear” on a microscope slide.
The slide is looked at under a microscope. The number, size, and shape of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets are recorded. Blood cells with different shapes or sizes can help diagnose many blood diseases, such as leukemia, malaria, or sickle cell disease.
Diagnosis of malaria involves performing blood smears. For a blood smear, a drop of blood is applied to and spread onto a glass slide. It is then treated with a special stain and examined under a microscope for the morphology of infected blood cells and the parasite.
Mode of action of common malaria RDT format
The first step of the test procedure involves mixing the patient's blood with a lysing agent in a test strip or well. ... Dye-labeled antibody, specific for target antigen, is present on the lower end of nitrocellulose strip or in a plastic well provided with the strip.