[Malaria: two complementary methods for Plasmodium detection in hospital practice].

In non-endemic areas, malaria diagnosis must be reliable and sensitive. Using acridine orange staining of centrifuged parasites (QBC) and Giemsa- stained thin blood films, we detected Plasmodium in 170 blood samples (158 samples were positive with both methods; 7 were positive with the QBC technique only and 5 were positive with the thin smear only). The QBC technique is useful for rapid screening and thin smear is necessary for Plasmodium identification and parasitaemia determination. The two complementary methods provide rapid and efficient diagnosis of malaria in non-endemic areas as well as control of parasitaemia following therapy.