We were all given malaria self-tests in our medical kits, and we were given an extra one to do today in lecture to make sure we know how to do it properly if we ever need to in the future.
The process involves swabbing and lancing your finger, scooping a drop of blood with a tiny scooplet, and then dabbing that in a small absorbent depression on a plastic stick (not unlike the ones used for pregnancy tests). You then place five drops of the reagent in the slightly larger adjacent depression, then wait for the chemical reaction to show either one line in the results window near control (negative reading), or two lines (the second at the "test" benchmark, which would be a positive reading). No line or a line somewhere in between indicates that the test did not work and needs to be repeated. (Each box comes with two tests).
Needless to say at this point, we all tested negative. And I hope it stays that way.
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