Reply to Goyal et al.

To the Editor—Goyal et al [1] provide additional useful commentary on the article by Patel et al, which investigates the usefulness of real-time fluorescence loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) for point-of-care testing for malaria [2, 3]. We agree on the issues raised regarding laboratory infrastructure requirements and precautions necessary to prevent contamination. However, specific needs for manual or automated DNA extraction and amplification will vary according to the volume of samples being processed, costs, and the technical capacity of the laboratory. Also, while currently available LAMP technologies require conditions that preclude its use in the most remote settings, the ease of use and speed of LAMP have allowed point-of-care testing in settings where it was previously not available.