Adapting a LAMP Plasmodium vivax Malaria Diagnostic for Use in Low Resource Settings

Malaria caused by the P. vivax parasite can be difficult to diagnose due to dormant phases and genetic variants. Regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia experience diagnostic accessibility issues due to the ‘gold standard’ diagnostic requiring expensive light microscopy of blood samples. This study focuses on expanding the potential of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) as a remote-ready P. vivax malaria diagnostic. We detected as few as 10 ³ copies of P. vivax . 18S rRNA DNA sequence spiked into molecular water and as few as 106 spiked into saliva. These results were reproduced when reactions were incubated in a consumer-ready coffee thermos. This saliva-ready LAMP diagnostic for P. vivax shows promise for remote use and increasing diagnostic access to low-resource regions.