Reference ranges
| RDT positive | Malaria antigen detected |
| MP positive with density | Parasites counted per microlitre or as +/++/+++ |
| Negative | No malaria detected in this sample |
| Note | RDTs can stay positive for weeks after successful treatment |
Reference ranges vary between laboratories and methods. Always read your result against the range printed on your own report.
Seek care urgently if
- Confusion, drowsiness or fits
- Difficulty breathing
- Passing very dark or cola-coloured urine
- Unable to keep any medication down
- Yellow eyes with malaria
- Malaria in pregnancy
- Severe anaemia with malaria
What a high result can mean
High parasite density (+++)
Indicates heavier infection needing prompt and sometimes inpatient treatment.
Positive with severe symptoms
Severity is judged clinically, not by the count alone.
Persistently positive RDT after treatment
Often residual antigen rather than treatment failure.
What a low result can mean
Negative with ongoing fever
Malaria is not the cause — the fever needs another explanation rather than empirical antimalarials.
Low density
Treated, but consider whether it fully explains the symptoms.
Have your result in front of you?
Send us the value and we will tell you whether it needs an appointment or not. No account, no form.
Ask about my Malaria parasite resultNothing is stored on this website.
What happens next
A negative malaria test with continuing fever is important information — it means something else is causing it. Repeated presumptive antimalarial courses without a positive test is one of the more harmful habits in Nigerian self-treatment.
Malaria & Typhoid Test Full Blood Count UrinalysisOther results people look up
This page explains what a result can mean in general terms. It is not a diagnosis and cannot account for your history, medication or examination. All visits to Mascot Healthcare are by appointment — Mon–Sat, 9AM–5PM, 52 Sholanke Street, Akoka, Yaba, Lagos.