Comparison of three PCR-based assays for the non-invasive diagnosis of malaria: detection of Plasmodium parasites in blood and saliva.

The conventional molecular diagnosis of malaria uses 18S rRNA-based PCR assay employing blood samples. This assay presents limitation in terms of long turnaround time and increased chances of false-positive results. Here, we evaluated one-step singleplex or multiplex PCR assay based on high copy species-specific consensus repeat sequences (CRS) along with standard 18S rRNA nested PCR (18S n-PCR) assay to detect P. falciparum and P. vivax infection using blood and saliva samples from Indian febrile patients. Out of 327 patients, 187 were found to be positive for malaria parasites by microscopic examination of peripheral blood smears. Among these 130 were P. vivax and 57 were P. falciparum cases. The 18S n-PCR assay and CRS PCR assay identified 186 out of 187 cases (99.4 %). Multiplex CRS PCR assay detected Plasmodium in 176 out of 187 cases (94.1 %). Both singleplex and multiplex CRS PCR assay identified 6 mixed infection cases, while 18S n-PCR assay detected 10 mixed infection cases of P. vivax and P. falciparum, which were not recognized by microscopy. Non-invasive Plasmodium detection rate with DNA derived from saliva samples was highest for 18S n-PCR (87.36 %), followed by singleplex CRS (81 %) and multiplex CRS PCR assay (70.5 %). Specificity for P. vivax and P. falciparum detection for all assays was 98.48 % and 100 % respectively. Detection rate for P. vivax in saliva correlated with parasite density for CRS target-based assays. The species-specific CRS PCR, either as a singleplex or multiplex assay, can have an impact on diagnosis and epidemiological studies in malaria.