Test to detect malaria and dengue fever

Claudio Parolo

Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Spain

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, international travel skyrocketed, reaching one billion trips by 2023. Notably, 60 % of these trips occurred in regions endemic to malaria and dengue, and about 12 % of travelers reported fever symptoms. Alarmingly, a quarter of these cases are attributable to malaria or dengue, affecting approximately 5 million people worldwide.

A quick, easy and inexpensive test to identify which patients presenting to healthcare centres with non-specific fever have contracted either of these two diseases would improve the clinical outlook for these patients, reduce transmission and lower costs to the health system.

In this context, the researchers leading this project aim to develop a diagnostic test based on nanoparticles, similar to rapid pregnancy or COVID-19 tests, capable of detecting malaria and dengue fever. To do so, they have focused on aptamers, nucleic acid molecules that have the ability to specifically bind a wide range of targets. In previous work, they have already characterised a biobank with more than 250 patient samples and identified two biomarkers for malaria, specific aptamer sequences for these, and dengue biomarkers. They have also conducted a market analysis to assess and confirm the commercial potential of such a test. In the current project, the researchers will focus their efforts on developing and validating a final prototype of a rapid diagnostic test for both diseases.

An aptamer-based rapid diagnostic test for the simultaneous detection of malaria and dengue

Stage 1