{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,30]],"date-time":"2026-09-30T13:19:46Z","timestamp":1790774386497,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,24]],"date-time":"2021-10-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1635033600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Malaria Research Capacity Development in West and Central Africa (MARCAD)","award":["DEL-15-010"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DEL-15-010"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Children"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Malaria is still a threat to public health as it remains the first endemic disease in the world. It is a pervasive parasitic disease in tropical and subtropical regions where asymptomatic malaria infection among humans serves as a significant reservoir for transmission. A rapid and correct diagnosis is considered to be an important strategy in the control of the disease especially in children, who are the most vulnerable group. This study assessed the prevalence of asymptomatic malaria in children at the Nkolbisson health area in Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon. A cross-sectional study design and a convenience sampling plan were used. A total of 127 participants were recruited after informed and signed consent from parents and\/or guardians. Blood samples were collected by finger-pricking and venipuncture from children aged 6 months to 10 years and then screened for asymptomatic parasitemia by a rapid diagnostic test (RDT), light microscopy (LM) staining with Giemsa and 18S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for speciation. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20 software. The study identified 85 children who were positive from the PCR, 95 positive from the RDT and 71 from the LM, revealing a malaria prevalence of 66.9%, 74.8% and 55.9%, respectively. The prevalence was not observed to be dependent on the sex and age group of the participants. Plasmodium falciparum was the predominant species followed by Plasmodium malariae and then Plasmodium ovale. The RDT and LM had the same sensitivity (90.6%) with a slight difference in their specificity (RDT: 57.1%; LM: 54.8%). The RDT also demonstrated higher positive and negative predictive values compared with those of the LM.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/children8110960","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,24]],"date-time":"2021-10-24T22:06:16Z","timestamp":1635113176000},"page":"960","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["Assessing Asymptomatic Malaria Carriage of Plasmodium falciparum and Non-falciparum Species in Children Resident in Nkolbisson, Yaound\u00e9, Cameroon"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0343-1722","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nji Mbuh","family":"Akindeh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lesley Ngum","family":"Ngum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Institute of Medicine and Medicinal Plants Studies, Dschang 00237, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peter Thelma Ngwa","family":"Niba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Innocent Mbulli","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang 00237, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ornella Laetitia Oben","family":"Ayem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jean Paul Kengne","family":"Chedjou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Buea, Buea P.O. Box 63, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2730-9847","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Calvino Tah","family":"Fomboh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aristid Herve Mbange","family":"Ekollo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Institut Universitaire de Technologie, University of Ngoundere, Ngoundere BP 61207, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cyrille Mbanwi","family":"Mbu\u2019u","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wilfred Fon","family":"Mbacham","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biotechnology Center, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"},{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Yaound\u00e9 I, Messa, Yaound\u00e9 P.O. Box 3851, Cameroon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1155\/2019\/1417967","article-title":"Comparison of the Accuracy of Four Malaria Diagnostic Methods in a High Transmission Setting in Coastal Cameroon","volume":"2019","author":"Moyeh","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Parasitol. Res."},{"key":"ref_2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Sensitivity and specificity of malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT CareStatTM) compared with microscopy amongst under five children attending a primary care clinic in southern Nigeria","volume":"12","author":"Ogunfowokan","year":"2020","journal-title":"Afr. J. Prim. Heal. Care Fam. 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