21 May 2007

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is hoping to help more people by improving the accessibility of its malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) website.

Using cash provided by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, AusAID, and USAID, the site was upgraded to feature higher levels of accessibility and therefore better serve its purpose of providing information relating to the killer disease, reports Medical News Today.

RDTs, sometimes referred to as dipsticks, are employed throughout the world to test for malaria, with more than 30 million put to use in 2006.

The site provides explanations of how RDTs should be used, the associated benefits and details of how and where they can be purchased, as well as trial and study documentation pertaining to the equipment.

"Malaria RDTs ... have potential to greatly improve the quality of management of malaria infections in these areas [the tropics and sub-tropics] when the main alternative form of diagnosis, high quality microscopy, is not readily available," explains the WHO.

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