Assessment of the Levels of Lactate Dehydrogenases in Malaria Infection and its Effects on Acridine Orange Staining during Diagnosis in Patients from Ngwo, Udi Local Government Area in Enugu State

Assessment of the Levels of Lactate Dehydrogenases in Malaria Infection and its Effects on Acridine Orange Staining during Diagnosis in Patients from Ngwo, Udi Local Government Area in Enugu State.

ABSTRACT  

Malaria is a potential medical emergency and should be treated accordingly. Delays in diagnosis and treatment are leading causes of death in many countries. The availability of rapid, simple diagnostic tools to substitute microscopy in malaria diagnosis will assist in the control of malaria by allowing therapy to be accurately administered.

Emphasis has, recently been placed on alternative methods such as the use of acridine orange in malaria diagnosis using conventional fluorescence microscope or an interference filter system, but these were not considered a useful tool in field conditions due to weak illumination or high cost of the microscopes.

This was the first study to use acridine orange in terms of their visual colours for malaria diagnosis. With acridine colour change, the infected individuals showed bright greenish yellow while the uninfected showed deep greenish yellow.

Further trial was also made on the use of LDH substrate in combination with acridine solution based on colour changes, with the infected indicating bright brownish orange while the uninfected showed deep brownish orange. Thick and thin blood smears of Giemsa stain was used to estimate the parasite density and to determine the specific specie (Plasmodium falciparum).

INTRODUCTION  

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by parasite (a type of microorganism) of the genus Plasmodium (Collins, 2012). infection begins with a bite from an infected female mosquito (Anopheles Mosquito), which introduces the protists via its saliva into the circulatory system, and ultimately it reaches to the liver where they mature and reproduce (Sebastian et al., 2008).

The life cycle of this parasite in the human host includes the developmental cycle in red blood cells, and the cycle taking place in the liver cell parenchyma, including a series of transformations in the host hepatocytes (Flornes, 2010). Pathophysiological processes usually associated with acute P. falciparum malaria infections, i.e., the hepatic activity of the invading sporozoites leading to centrilobular liver damage and the destruction of the host red blood cells consequent to erythrocytic merogony (Maegraith, 1981).

The disease causes symptoms that typically include fever, anaemia and headache, which in severe cases can progress to coma or death (Fairhurst and Wellems, 2010). Five different species: P. falciparum, P. malariae, P. ovale, P. vivax, P.knowlesi, affect humans (Mueller et al., 2007; Collins, 2012). Plasmodium falciparum is the most pathogenic species and may cause severe malaria and death in untreated non-immume individuals (WHO, 2009).

Disease transmission can be reduced by preventing mosquito bites by distribution of mosquito nets and insect repellents, or with mosquito control measures such as spraying insecticides and drain standing waters (Lengeler, 2004). Malaria continues to be one of the world’s most significant health problems, accounting for 300–500 million clinical attacks and over 1 million deaths every year mainly in children under 5 years of age (WHO, 1999). 

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