The President of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), Dr Ifeanyi Casmir, has raised alarm over the reliability of malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) kits used across the country, revealing that most of them have not been validated by the regulatory body, the Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN).
In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Healthwise, Dr Casmir emphasized that the widespread use of unapproved kits is contributing to misdiagnosis, poor malaria management, and rising resistance to antimalarial drugs. “Most of the RTDs used for testing malaria in Nigeria are not validated by the MLSCN. They are not validated and therefore cannot be said to be reliable,” he said.
According to the World Health Organisation, RDTs detect malaria parasites by identifying specific antigens in human blood. However, many of these kits only detect limited species and are being used improperly due to lack of training and regulation.
Dr Casmir also lamented that the country lacks sufficient trained personnel at primary healthcare levels, resulting in unqualified individuals conducting tests. “We have tons of primary health centres largely manned by community health workers who are not trained to handle malaria diagnosis,” he explained.
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He stated that due to fake results and improper interpretation, individuals without malaria are often misdiagnosed and treated, worsening drug resistance. “When 100 tests are done, they report 99 as malaria cases. It is not in all cases that they have malaria,” he warned.
The AMLSN president called on the Federal Ministry of Health’s Malaria Control Division to prioritize research on local parasite strains and regulate diagnostic tools more strictly. He further advocated for malaria vaccines tailored to Nigerian parasite variants, noting that only such measures will effectively protect citizens.
Dr Casmir concluded by urging the deployment of qualified medical laboratory scientists across all healthcare levels to ensure accurate malaria diagnosis and improved public health outcomes.
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