IS THE MALARIA DIAGNOSIS EXPENSIVE

Malaria remains the most important of the tropical diseases, widesprea d throughout the tropics, but also occurring in many temperate regions . The disease causes a heavy toll of illness and death, especially amo ng children in endemic areas. It also poses a risk to business travell ers, tourists and inmigrants and imported cases of malaria are increas ingly seen in non-endemic areas. We discuss here how microscopical dia gnosis is essential for identifying Plasmodium species responsible of the infection and discarding possible mixed infections. Thus, a correc t treatment can be administered in 30 min, avoiding secondary stays an d saving important amounts of money. Problems of drug resistance have to be distinguished from those arising due to erroneous diagnosis.