1Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India.
2National Institute of Malaria Research, New Delhi, India.
Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021 Jun 28;105(2):281-283. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.21-0213.
Globally, malaria incidence has declined but further reductions in malaria are not evident in many countries. In addition to the public health approaches for tackling malaria, involvement of the private sector is vital because the private sector plays a central role in healthcare delivery to the masses. In India, malaria management is primarily provided through government programs, nonetheless, significant numbers of fever patients continue to seek healthcare in the private sector. The private sector in India is comprised of formal healthcare (qualified and approved), informal healthcare (unqualified, untrained), including traditional healers. Commercial channels for the procurement of quality-assured malaria diagnostics like rapid diagnostic tests via pharmacies or other approved outlets would empower Indian populations to self-detect malaria without delay. Easier access would minimize the diagnostic time gap, reduce costs to the patient, prevent inappropriate malaria treatment, and foster timely treatment of both malaria and non-malaria infections. Commercially available rapid diagnostic tests in the hands of the people could be an important tool in our fight against malaria.
全球范围内，疟疾发病率已经下降，但许多国家的疟疾发病率并未明显降低。除了采取公共卫生措施来应对疟疾之外，私营部门的参与至关重要，因为私营部门在向大众提供医疗保健方面发挥着核心作用。在印度，疟疾管理主要通过政府计划提供，但仍有大量发热患者继续在私营部门寻求医疗服务。印度的私营部门包括正规医疗（合格且经批准的）和非正规医疗（不合格、未经培训的），包括传统的治疗师。通过药店或其他经批准的渠道采购质量有保证的疟疾诊断方法（如快速诊断检测）的商业渠道，可以使印度人民能够立即自我检测疟疾。更方便的获取途径将缩短诊断时间差距，降低患者成本，防止不适当的疟疾治疗，并促进疟疾和非疟疾感染的及时治疗。在人民手中的商业上可用的快速诊断检测可以成为我们对抗疟疾的重要工具。
