[Construction and application of malaria biobank].

OBJECTIVE:To establish a systemized malaria biobank with well-rounded epidemiologic data and a computer-aid management system, thus to provide qualified sources for malaria elimination and human malaria research. METHODS:The malaria biobank was based on the platform of Jiangsu Institute of Parasitic Diseases. The blood smear samples, dried blood samples, whole blood samples and parasite strains isolated from patients (from both local and imported cases) were collected since 2011 according to a standardized operational procedure. The biobank management software was applied to input of the epidemiological data and samples, and the quality of samples was monitored regularly. RESULTS:A standard malaria biobank was established. The Information Management System was applied to input, storage and output of samples. Totally 99.42% (2 223/2 236) of the blood smear samples, 92.58% (2 070/2 236) of the dried blood samples, 94.50% (2 113/2 236) of whole blood, and 2.06% (46/2 236) of the isolated stains in 2 236 reported cases were included in the malaria biobank in Jiangsu Province from 2011 to 2017. Based on the malaria biobank, 99.42% (2 223/2 236) of the blood smears and 82.74% (1 850/2 236) of DNA (from dried blood and whole blood samples) from malaria patients in Jiangsu Province were re-checked. Moreover, the samples in the malaria biobank were used in the studies of the mechanism of parasite drug resistance, malaria molecular epidemiology, and diagnosis technology development and evaluation. CONCLUSIONS:The establishment of malaria biobank provides a guarantee for malaria elimination in Jiangsu Province and also provides a qualified resource for malaria research.