First workshop “quality of filter paper collection” for molecular surveillance of Plasmodium

Abstract

In Nicaragua, malaria is still a public health problem; in 2005, custodian sites were established in the affected areas of the country where the medication resistance of Plasmodium falciparum is monitored and the dynamics of Plasmodium vivax are evaluated. For this purpose, blood test was taken on filter paper in patients with malaria confirmed by microscopy. Given the importance of the sampling procedure, a comprehensive and periodic training was necessary to develop in two rounds (september - november 2016), to the health employees, both from the state and private sectors of high and low endemic areas of the caribbean and the west area of Nicaragua. In order to improve the quality of sampling, standardized operating procedures (SOPs) were incorporated, 20 microscopists were trained, from these sentinel sites, with which techniques and materials were incorporated to improve the indicators that guarantee a good sample for molecular evaluations, the acceptance of these procedures by health employees has achieved an impact on the quality of the blood sample in filter paper for the surveillance studies that the country has.