Mobile phone-based screening tools to accelerate malaria eradication (360G-Wellcome-215826_Z_19_Z)

Malaria is one of the deadliest infectious diseases in the world, with 219 million infections and 435,000 deaths in 2017. A crucial step towards achieving malaria elimination is reducing malaria transmission by identifying and treating the asymptomatic transmission reservoir. Malaria ROTs are the most commonly used tests to detect malaria infection; however, they rely on blood sampling which limits their practicality for mass screening and routine surveillance. We will evaluate the utility of interstitial fluid and saliva for blood-free detection of PfHRP2, an established biomarker of malaria infection. We will also develop mobile phone-based screening tools for sensitive measurements of PfHRP2 in interstitial fluid and saliva, and evaluate their effectiveness for identifying asymptomatical/y infected individuals in Malawi. The simplicity, portability and bloodless nature of these tools will likely make them more readily accepted, especially among asymptomatic individuals. Improved surveillance of this group will reduce malaria transmission and accelerate malaria eradication.