Blood-testing for malaria gets WHO backing:

There is an clear need for rapid, blood-based diagnostic test for malaria. This is the conclusion of research into the potential benefits of immunochromatographic testing (ICT), compared with symptom-based diagnosis and microscopy. A blood test for use in remote rural areas should be highly sensitive, affordable, stable and easy to use with minimal support and training, say the researchers from Australia's Centre for International and Tropical Health and Nutrition, in a paper published recently by the World Health Organization. Their work, conducted in a remote area of low endemicity in the Philippines, found that malarial parasitaemia cannot be easily identified by symptoms alone and microscopy is unreliable in remote areas. Blood-testing, however, was well accepted and performed accurately after little training, says the researchers.