Interpretation guide: SINGLE BAND tests
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| 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
| RESULT 2 |
The test has valid control line (black arrow) and an additional band in the species-specific area (red arrow)
Most likely interpretation: The indicated species is detected and is the only malaria species present
Less common but possible interpretations:
- There is a dual-species infection (a second species cannot be detected by single band kits)
- The patient recently received successful treatment, but the antigen has not yet cleared
- 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)