RITM, through it Parasitology Department, trained 26 medical technologists from government and private health facilities with the knowledge and skills in advanced malaria microscopy on June 17-21, 2019 at RITM Training Center.

“Malaria microscopy is a skilled exercise requiring great care at each step of the standard operating procedures and precise visual and differential skills,” said RITM Parasitology Learning and Development Intervention Coordinator Sherwin Galit.

The knowledge and skills imparted to the participants are grounded on the World Health Organization (WHO) Malaria Microscopy Learners Guide Training Manual. These medical technologists are now able to diagnose different malaria parasites species by microscopy within international recommended standards. They can identify the stages and species of malaria parasite and the density of infection, enabling the physician to treat a patient with the most appropriate antimalarial agents.

A five-day intensive course for medtechs in the clinical and blood bank laboratories, the Competency Based Training on the Diagnosis of Malaria by Microscopy and Biosafety Workshop is led by WHO Level 1 malaria microscopists and experienced facilitators.

“This training supports the goal of the National Malaria Elimination Program to eliminate malaria in the Philippines by 2030,” Galit ended.

Malaria is caused by a parasite which infects a person’s red blood cells. In the country,Plasmodium falciparum is the species responsible for most cases of severe malaria and death. Other human malaria infections are caused by Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, andPlasmodium ovale. The parasite is carried and transmitted by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito