Analysis of parasite densities in clinical samples using absolute qPCR and microscopy.

<p>Absolute quantitative qPCR was performed using plasmid DNA as the standard to analyze clinical samples. The log₁₀ parasite densities in terms of parasite/µl was determined from qPCR assays and compared to the log₁₀ parasite densities as determined by expert microscopist. The correlation coefficient of parasite densities measured using the two methods was calculated using the nonparametric Spearman correlation coefficient. There was a statistically significant correlation between parasite density measured by microscopy and absolute quantitative qPCR.