Primers for detecting plasmodium

A method for detecting or identifying infection with the genus Plasmodium and/or one or more of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale in a specimen;

• the method comprising the following steps (a) to (c):
• (a) extracting DNA from the specimen;
• (b) amplifying a particular region of a Plasmodium 18S rRNA gene sequence by reacting the DNA extracted in the step (a) in a reaction mixture containing a strand displacement DNA polymerase and a sequence-specific primer set;
• and
• (c) detecting or identifying the presence or absence of an amplified product of the genus Plasmodium and/or one or more of Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium malariae, and Plasmodium ovale, amplified in the step (b);
• the sequence-specific primer set being
• a primer set comprising an oligonucleotide set containing nucleic acid sequences represented by SEQ ID NOs:
• 1 to 6 for amplifying a particular region of a Plasmodium 18S rRNA gene sequence;
• and/or
• one or more of
• a primer set comprising an oligonucleotide set containing nucleic acid sequences represented by SEQ ID NOs:
• 7 to 12 for amplifying a particular region of a Plasmodium falciparum 18S rRNA gene sequence,
• a primer set comprising an oligonucleotide set containing nucleic acid sequences represented by SEQ ID NOs:
• 13 to 18, SEQ ID NOs:
• 31 to 36, or SEQ ID NOs:
• 37 to 42 for amplifying a particular region of a Plasmodium vivax 18S rRNA gene sequence,
• a primer set comprising an oligonucleotide set containing nucleic acid sequences represented by SEQ ID NOs:
• 19 to 24 for amplifying a particular region of a Plasmodium malariae 18S rRNA gene sequence, and
• a primer set comprising an oligonucleotide set containing nucleic acid sequences represented by SEQ ID NOs:
• 25 to 30 for amplifying a particular region of a Plasmodium ovale 18S rRNA gene sequence.