PCR Diagnosis of Malaria at Convalescent Stage Post-Treatment

Malaria is one of the important febrile diseases that travelers contract after visiting tropical or subtropical countries. In Japan approximately 120 cases of imported malaria are reported annually, with additional cases remaining unreported. Because there are few hospitals where malaria-conscious doctors are readily available, some travelers are likely to resort to self-treatment before going to a clinic. We sometimes encounter such self-treated patients with negative blood smear for malaria parasites. It would be very informative if we could determine whether these self-treated patients had actually contracted malaria, using a more sensitive method than conventional microscopy.