Parasitology

Background:  Malaria is a major  cause of morbidity and  mortality worldwide.  In  Ethiopia malaria transmission is generally unstable caused by P. falciparium and P. vivax. Early diagnosis and treatment is the best way to manage malaria transmission. Even though different diagnostic methods are available, still microscopy is a gold standard but in place where microscopy is not accessible and affordable, RDT is the only choose for easy diagnostic application which helps in accurate  use  of  antimalarial  drugs.  In  Ethiopia  over  the  last  five  years  (2001–2005)  the proportion of malaria in outpatient department, admission and in-patient deaths has been increasing with the highest being recorded in 2003 and 2004 while a slight reduction was observed in 2005. In 2005, malaria was still the first leading cause of health problem.

Objective & Method:  A cross sectional study was conducted to evaluate the performance of SD FK80 kit for malaria (P. falciparum / P. vavix) diagnosis and the retrospective study was conducted to assess the trends of malaria transmission in Adama District from November to December, 2011 at Adama Malaria Center, Southeastern Oromia. 384 blood samples were collected and analyzed with microscopy and RDT (SD Bioline P. falciparum/ P. vivax) for the detection and identification of Plasmodium parasites.