Update of the response plan to pfhrp2 gene deletions: meeting report, 26 January 2023

The emergence of P. falciparum parasites with deletions in the pfhrp2 and pfhrp3 genes in most malaria-endemic regions poses a significant biological threat to malaria control.  These parasites are undetectable by HRP2-based rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) – the most commonly used test for malaria diagnosis – resulting in false-negative RDT results, which can have lethal consequences for the management of malaria patients.   

In January 2023, WHO hosted a technical consultation to address the threat of pfhrp2 gene deletions. The meeting aimed to update the WHO Response plan to pfhrp2 deletions, originally published in 2019, and to revise the WHO surveillance protocol. The updated protocol will guide national decision on replacing RDTs that exclusively detect HRP2 when the prevalence of false-negative RDT results caused by pfhrp2 gene deletions reaches or exceeds 5%.

The conclusions of the technical consultation, presented in this report, have informed the revised WHO Response plan to pfhrp2 deletions and the updated WHO surveillance protocol, both of which will be released soon.