Malaria diagnosis: memorandum from a WHO meeting

This Memorandum reviews (1) the diagnostic requirements for malaria control within the primary health care system; (2) the current methods of malaria diagnosis used both in the clinic and in epidemiological studies; (3) the status of research on alternative methods to microscopy for the diagnosis of malaria; and (4) the application of new diagnostic methods in individual cases, in the community, and in the mosquito and their possible integration into existing epidemiological studies and control programmes. It also identifies priorities for the development and validation of new and reliable diagnostic techniques, and makes recommendations for the improvement, standardization, and utilization of current methodology.