Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/202...ay-be-selecting-for-strains-it-cant-identify/
Malaria seems to be evolving to hide from rapid tests
Avoiding tests means avoiding treatment, and that means further infections.
John Timmer - 9/29/2021, 1:09 PM
The pandemic has introduced a lot of people to the idea of rapid antigen tests, which can quickly and conveniently reveal the presence of an infection. But in many parts of the world, rapid tests are a central feature of health care. If you don't have easy access to a testing lab infrastructure—and many in the developing world don't—rapid tests can provide a quick way of screening for common problems. In a number of countries, rapid test results are what determine whether people are given anti-malaria treatments or not.
But that may be causing a unique problem. A new paper suggests that the malarial parasite may be evolving so that it can't be recognized by the most commonly used rapid tests...
Malaria seems to be evolving to hide from rapid tests
Avoiding tests means avoiding treatment, and that means further infections.
John Timmer - 9/29/2021, 1:09 PM
The pandemic has introduced a lot of people to the idea of rapid antigen tests, which can quickly and conveniently reveal the presence of an infection. But in many parts of the world, rapid tests are a central feature of health care. If you don't have easy access to a testing lab infrastructure—and many in the developing world don't—rapid tests can provide a quick way of screening for common problems. In a number of countries, rapid test results are what determine whether people are given anti-malaria treatments or not.
But that may be causing a unique problem. A new paper suggests that the malarial parasite may be evolving so that it can't be recognized by the most commonly used rapid tests...