Molecular monitoring of the diversity of human pathogenic malaria species in blood donations on Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea

Table 3 Analytical comparison of methods deployed for P. falciparum detection

Diagnostic tool	Sens^a	Spec^b	PPV^c	NPV^d
qPCR-PfvarATS	Gold standard
qPCR-Pspp18S	88.5% [76.6–95.7]	95.3% [90.5–98.1]^e	86.8% [76.0–93.2]^e	95.9% [91.7–98.0]
RDT	23.1% [12.5–36.8]	99.3% [96.3–99.9]	92.3% [61.5–100.0]	79.0% [76.0–81.0]
Microscopy	7.7% [2.1–18.5]	100.0% [97.54–100]	100% –	75.5% [74.0–76.9]

^aSensitivity and 95% confidence interval
^bSpecificity and 95% confidence interval
^cPositive predictive value and 95% confidence interval
^dNegative predictive value and 95% confidence interval
^eSpecificity and PPV of Pspp18S qPCR assay is reduced because non-falciparum Plasmodium species are also detected

ISSN: 1475-2875