ATLANTA, Oct. 28 (UPI) — Haitian and U.S. officials have approved the use of three malaria rapid diagnostic tests for use in earthquake-ravaged Haiti, a U.S. report says.

Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population say because symptoms of malaria are non-specific, a laboratory test to confirm the diagnosis is recommended, but it is not always possible to use the microscopes necessary for the test because of the lack of equipment or trained personnel.

The report, published Thursday, in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, says the rapid diagnostic tests can usually be implemented in primary clinics or field hospitals more readily than microscopy — using microscopes — and allows for greater availability of malaria diagnosis.

The approved rapid diagnostic tests for use in Haiti are: First Response Malaria Ag HRP2 of Premier Medical Corp.; CareStart Malaria HRP2 (Pf) of Access Bio Inc. and SD Bioline Malaria Ag Pf of Standard Diagnostics Inc.