[Evaluation of a simple and rapid method of Plasmodium falciparum DNA extraction using thick blood smears from Gabonese patients]

In field-based studies, sometimes it is difficult to collect and store samples. We have evaluated a method of malaria parasite deoxyribonucleic (DNA) extraction from non-stained thick dried blood smears collected from 108 Gabonese patients. This method of DNA isolation was compared to those using phenol/chloroform. Patients parasitemia ranged from 0 to 240,000 parasites/microliter of blood. Both methods of DNA preparation gave similar results. Of the 108 slides, 57% were Plasmodium falciparum positive after PCR analysis of the MSA-2 gene and 34% were positive by microscopical examination. Thirty-six and seventy-two blood smears from patients were also tested after one and four weeks' storage respectively, at room temperature, and the parasite DNA was successfully extracted. We conclude that this simple method of collection and rapid procedure of parasite DNA isolation are adequate and convenient in the field when a large number of samples are required and in the case of repetitive samplings of patients.