Plasmodium gallinaceum-parasitized chicken erythrocytes in a practical hemagglutination test for IgM antibodies in human malaria.

A new hemagglutination test for human malaria, done with Plasmodium gallinaceum-parasitized, aldehyde-fixed, chicken erythrocytes as a stable lyophilized reagent, is described. The test was positive in every human case of falciparum or vivax malaria in which there was parasitemia. It detected only IgM anti-plasmodial antibodies and usually became negative within a few weeks after treatment. As a practical and sensitive test for active malaria, the P. gallinaceum hemagglutination test should be complementary tool for seroepidemiological studies.