Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test Guides Anti-Malaria Drugs Targeting - 10 October 2011

MOSHI, TANZANIA - A new rapid diagnostic test for malaria is proving invaluable as a means of getting the right drugs to the right patients - according to research findings from the Joint Malaria Programme in NE Tanzania. Scientists from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine based at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Moshi are putting the test through its paces in a series of clinics where patients with fever can find out whether they have malaria within 15 minutes - without the need for expensive microscopes or highly trained operators. The field co-ordinator, Hilda Mbakilwa gave Sarah Maxwell the details during a routine clinic session.