[Can the thick drop/smear examination for malaria be replaced by a rapid diagnostic test in first intention? The Mayotte experience].

Settings: Malaria is a public health problem in the French island of Mayotte (160,000 inhabitants) in the Indian Ocean. In the late 1990, resistance to chloroquine greatly increased, and so did the number of malaria cases, so that a new health policy had to be adopted. Since 2001, the initial smear/thick drop examination, the results of which took too long to obtain, has systematically been replaced by a rapid diagnosis test (Optimal IT Diamed) in all hospitals and public health centers.