From WHO/USAID report on Malaria detection (executive summary):

"In malaria patients, a prompt and accurate diagnosis is the key to effective disease management. The two diagnostic approaches currently used most often, however, do not allow a satisfactory diagnosis of malaria. Clinical diagnosis, the most widely used approach, is unreliable because the symptoms of malaria are very non-specific. Microscopic diagnosis, the established method for laboratory confirmation of malaria, presents technical and personnel requirements that often cannot be met, particularly in facilities at the periphery of the health care system. In addition, delays in the provision of the microscopy results to the clinician mean that decisions on treatment may be taken without the benefit of the results. Thus, the recent introduction of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria is of considerable interest."