Blood

1 mL blood in lavender top tube

EDTA blood needs to be delivered STAT to the Microbiology Lab.

Giemsa smears and Malaria antigen testing 24 hrs/day, 7 days a week, including holidays.

Antigen results will be available within one hour of specimen arrival, 24 hours a day. Preliminary thin smear results will be available within 90 minutes of specimen arrival if the specimen arrives between 0700-1900 or by 0930 if specimen arrives after hours.

All specimens sent for malarial examination will be initially screened with a malarial antigen assay. This assay can rapidly identify patients infected with Plasmodium falciparum at levels of 0.1% or higher, and it can also identify cases of malaria caused by other species. However, it cannot specifically classify Plasmodium species other than P. falciparum. The assay has a very high negative predictive value (>99%) for malaria. All specimens will continue to be Giemsa stained and examined microscopically by a pathologist, regardless of the antigen result. One set of negative smears does not rule out malaria. If clinical suspicion for malaria remains after one set of negative smears, additional specimens should be submitted at 12 hour intervals for the subsequent 36 hour period.

Note on requisition if a parasite infection other than malaria is suspected.

Please contact the Microbiology resident from 0800-1700 (pager 4903) with questions. After hours, contact the Clinical Pathology resident on call (pager 3404).

Lateral Flow Assay for antigen testing.
Microscopic slide examination.

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