An alternative agglutination assay to measure antibodies to variant surface antigens of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes.

Agglutination assays detect antibodies to variant parasite antigens expressed on the surface of Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes. Standard techniques require immediate analysis limiting the number of samples that can be processed simultaneously and preclude re-examination of slides. Fixed Giemsa-stained smears allow long-term storage and re-examination, without fluorescence microscopy.