Course # DL-002: POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH THE DIAGNOSIS OF MALARIA IN THE UNITED STATES; Laboratory Identification of Malaria
by Lynn S Garcia, MS, CLS, FAAM – Director, LSG & Associates – Santa Monica, CA
Approved for 2.0 CE/Contact Hours
Level of Difficulty: Intermediate
CAMLT is approved by the California Department of Health Services as a CA CLS Accrediting Agency (#0021) and this course is is approved by ASCLS for the P.A.C.E.® Program (#519)
Notification of Distance Learning Deadline
This is a reminder that all the continuing education units required to renew your license/certificate must be earned no later than the expiration date printed on your license/certificate. If some of your units are made up of Distance Learning courses, please allow yourself enough time to retake the test in the event you do not pass on the first attempt. CAMLT urges you to earn your CE units early!
If you fail, you must submit new payment and obtain a new PayPal receipt each time you take the test. A certificate will be issued only if you have paid for re-taking the course and you pass the test.
If you want to submit your registration and quiz via fax or mail you should print the Adobe Acrobat version of the course which includes the required Registration/Quiz form.
QUICK LINKS
Quiz – Registration – Answer Form (PDF) Online Registration – Pay – Quiz
Completion of this course requires downloading the Acrobat Version (link above). You may then print a copy or view the downloaded file on your computer to see the course material. Only the Objectives and Introduction appear below.
OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of this course, the participant will be able to:
- Discuss the symptomatic differences seen in immunologically naïve patients compared with those from endemic areas with past exposure to malaria.
- Outline the patient history information required for the Clinical Laboratory Scientist to perform diagnostic testing with the best and most relevant diagnostic results outcome.
- Describe the steps required for STAT testing recommended for the diagnosis of malaria infections.
- Outline appropriate procedures for the laboratory identification of malaria.
- Discuss the pros and cons for the FDA-approved rapid test for malaria.
- Differentiate among the five species of human malaria, including potential difficulties associated with morphologic identification to the species level.
- Describe appropriate report comments designed to provide the physician with the most relevant patient information.
INTRODUCTION
Malaria is an ancient human disease, with fatal periodic fevers discussed as early as 2700 BC in Egyptian and Chinese writings. Infections with Plasmodium spp were documented in Rome by 200 BC, spread throughout Europe during the twelfth century, and arrived in England by the fourteenth century. European explorers, conquistadors, and colonists probably imported Plasmodium malariae and Plasmodium vivax to the Americas. The arrival of Plasmodium falciparum coincided with the importation of African slaves, and by the early 1800s malaria was found worldwide.
Malaria has had a greater impact on world history than any other infectious disease including the outcome of wars, population movements, and the rise and fall of various nations. Before the American Civil War, malaria was found as far north as southern Canada; however, by the early 1950s it was no longer an endemic disease within the United States. More than 300 to 500 million individuals worldwide are infected with Plasmodium spp, and 1.5 to 2.7 million people a year, most of whom are children, die from the infection. Malaria is endemic in over 90 countries with an approximate population of 2.4 billion people; this represents nearly 40% of the world’s population. About 90% of the malaria deaths occur in Africa. Despite continuing efforts in vaccine development, malaria prevention is difficult, and no drug is universally effective.
Quiz – Registration – Answer Form (PDF) Online Registration – Pay – Quiz