Knowledge of patients and interest of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RTDs) for uncomplicated malaria efficient management in community pharmacies of Côte d’Ivoire
For better management of malaria, WHO recommends early biological diagnosis for rapid treatment. In Côte d'Ivoire, due to difficulties associated with the use of microscopy in primary health care facilities, the biological diagnosis of malaria relies mainly on RDTs. Private pharmacies play an important role in the outpatient healthcare using RDTs to diagnose malaria. The aim of this study was to determine knowledge of patients and frequency of malaria cases using RDTs among patients in private pharmacies of Côte d’Ivoire. This cross-sectional survey was carried out from June to November 2020 among patients in three private pharmacies. Questionnaire was administered to individuals after informed consent to assess knowledge and collect sociodemographic data. Blood samples were taken from patients and the "ABON™ Plus Malaria P.f /Pan" RDT was performed on each sample. Of 450 subjects sampled, 33.3% (150/450) were RDTs positive. Plasmodium falciparum was the only species identified. The majority of the population (93.4%) revealed that the mode of transmission of malaria is mosquito bites. The main symptom of patients was fever (85.6%). The main ways of malaria prevention mentioned by patients were the use of insecticides (80%) and mosquito nets (73.5%). The majority of patients (74.6%) justified biological confirmation by detecting parasite in blood. This study shows the importance of confirming suspected cases of malaria in all contexts, in order to avoid misuse of anti-malarial drugs in pharmacies.