Worldwide, approximately 216 million people are infected with malaria resulting in 445,000 deaths each year. 91% of which occur in Africa and affect children under the age of 5 years.

Some infectious diseases have similar clinical symptoms, which make them difficult to distinguish. Resource-poor countries do not have access to laboratory-based diagnostic facilities to support treatment decisions. As a consequence, empirical treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics in addition to antimalarials has emerged as a standard treatment method to make sure the infection is cleared.

The aim of this project is to identify biomarkers that are specific for malaria and bacterial bloodstream infections in order to develop a point-of-care test that is applicable in resource-poor settings. The increase in diagnostic accuracy should optimize clinical treatment decisions and contribute to the prevention of antimalarial and antibiotic drug resistance.