Training in malaria microscopy and South Sudan’s first malaria slide bank

摘要

Given that malaria in South Sudan is endemic in 95% of the country and contributes significantly to overall mortality (sixth cause of death),[1] we feel that malaria deserves greater consideration by scholars, institutions, organizations and the public alike.[2] Several initiatives for tackling malaria are currently being implemented across the country by numerous health organisations. These include the improvement of malaria diagnosis based on clinical presentation and quality assured laboratory diagnosis using rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) and microscopy. Despite the practical advantages of adopting RDTs, microscopy remains the accepted standard for clinical diagnosis in resource-constrained settings.[3,4] However, quality assured malaria microscopy requires basic laboratory infrastructure, a power source, well maintained equipment, a regular supply of quality reagents, and competent microscopists.