CHALLENGES IN DIAGNOSING ASYMPTOMATIC PLASMODIUM INFECTIONS: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF ASYMPTOMATIC CARRIERS AS A RESERVOIR IN MAINTAINING THE DISEASE CYCLE
Keywords:
Malária; Asymptomatic; Diagnostic; Immunology; Plasmodium.Abstract
Asymptomatic malária (silent Plasmodium infection) still poses many diagnostic challenges. In view of this problem, this review article aims to explain how asymptomatic carriers of the infection serve as a reservoir of the disease helping to maintain its cycle, the action of the immune system and the existing diagnostic tests, as well as their limitations. An analysis was made of information obtained over the last 20 years, using PubMed and Scielo as search tools. After this analysis it was possible to understand how asymptomatic malaria occurs and contributes to the persistence of Plasmodium in endemic areas, one of the biggest challenges in eradicating the disease in Brazil and in other countries with autochthonous cases, as well as identifying the limitations of all the methods currently used for diagnosis and control of infected people.
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