Molecular Diagnostic Tools and Malaria Elimination: A Review on Solutions at Hand, Challenges Ahead and Breakthroughs Needed

Malaria is a serious public health problem worldwide. Globally concerted efforts are underway to control and eliminate it. Despite recent slowdown, substantial achievements have been recorded in the last 20 years. However, its eradication requires successful elimination of all Plasmodium parasites among symptomatic, asymptomatic, sub-microscopic infections. This review aimed at assessing role molecular diagnostic tools malaria elimination. Quality assured diagnosis fundamental malaria. High-throughput important for diagnosis, monitoring interventions mitigate Molecular techniques such as real-time PCR, LAMP, nPCR, RT-PCR, multiplex-PCR, NASBA, CLIP-PCR instrumental They enabled detection identification parasitemia. also discovery, development drugs. their tremendous contribution immense potential, they not readily available malaria-endemic settings, fail detect hypnozoites infectious gametocytes well sufficiently optimized fieldwork. Those challenges might delay thereby threatening quest reach goal malaria-free world by 2050. Therefore, we need novel fit field application detecting hypnozoites, gametocytes, vitro analysis Plasmodium vivax.