How is malaria diagnosed?
The doctor will ask you questions about your health and do a physical exam. If the doctor thinks you may have malaria, he or she will use a blood smear to check for the disease. During this test, a sample of blood is placed on a glass slide, prepared, and looked at under a microscope.
A blood smear test can help diagnose malaria. It can also help a doctor see what type of malaria parasite you have and how many parasites are in your blood. This can help with decisions about treatment.
If the first blood smear doesn't show malaria, your doctor may order more tests every 12 to 24 hours.
A blood test that can diagnose malaria quickly is also available. If this rapid test points to malaria, the results are usually confirmed with a blood smear.
If you've been in an area where malaria occurs and you get a fever up to a year after you return, your doctor may test you for malaria. If the tests don't show malaria, you may need more tests to make sure that you don't have a malaria infection. During treatment, tests are repeated to follow the course of the infection and to see if the treatment is working.
Other tests
Other useful tests that may be done include:
- Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This test detects parasite nucleic acids and identifies the species of malaria parasite.
- Complete blood count (CBC). This checks for anemia or evidence of other possible infections. Anemia sometimes develops in people with malaria, because the parasites damage red blood cells.
- A blood glucose test. This measures the amount of a type of sugar, called glucose, in your blood.
