Interpretation guide: SINGLE BAND tests
From MalariaETC
Navigation
Go Back
| RESULT 1
|
No band appears in the control area (black arrow)
Irrespective of whether any other bands are present, this is always an invalid test: do not interpret
Action:
- Repeat the test
- Consider the reasons for test failure
| The test has valid control line and an additional band in the species-specific area |
The test has valid control line (black arrow) and an additional band in the species-specific area (red arrow) (pici)
Most likely interpretation: The indicated species is present and is the only malaria species
Less common but possible interpretations:
- There is a dual-species infection (a second species cannot be detected by single band kits)
- The "specific band" is a false positive result (infrequent but observed)
(2) No band present in species-specific area Most common: the species is not present Possible alternatives: A faint band was present but not seen by observer* The species is present but not detected due to low parasite concentration (link to reasons) The species is present but not detected for technical reasons The species is present, but there is gene deletion of the target antigen (HRP2 tests) The species is present but exceeds test capacity due to very high parasite Pyrome effect (mainly HRP2 tests)