ASSESSMENT OF THREE BLOOD GENOMIC-DNA PREPARATION METHODS FOR MALARIA MOLECULAR DIAGNOSIS.

Species-specific PCR techniques are highly sensitive and reliable alternatives to classical methods for malaria diagnosis and speciation, especially in endemic regions under advanced control or elimination programs where asymptomatic and low-density infections are increasingly reported. Nevertheless, the performance of these techniques is directly affected by the quality of isolated DNA templates. A Plasmodium falciparum/vivax-specific diagnostic Nested-PCR (Pƒ/Pv N-PCR) was used to assess three DNA preparation methods, Qiagen® Mini-Chromatographic kit (QIAmp®) and Jena-Biosciences® DNA isolation kit (JB®) for genomic DNA extraction from EDTA-preserved whole blood samples, and Whatman-FTA® purification reagent (FTA®) for DNA preparation from dry blood spots (DBS) collected onto FTA®- cards.