A Fatal Case of Cerebral Malaria Caused by Plasmodium Malariæ

By A. K. GHOSE, l.m.f., l.t.m. Medical Officer, Ambari Tea Estate, Canon, Jalpaiguri A coolie, aged about 27 years, of good constitution, suddenly fell down unconscious on the 9th November, 1936, and I was called in to see the case on the 10th. I found him in the following condition:? Fully unconscious, lying flat on his back, slight rise of temperature, pulse and respiration quite normal, ?spleen slightly palpable, pupils normal. Not being able to find out any definite cause of the present state I took some blood smears and injected a cardiac stimulant (adreno-ephedrine). Previous history.?There was no previous history of malaria. This man once lost consciousness about a year ago in his native home (Ranchi) and was cured without treatment. Here too, some four months ago, he fell down unconscious in the similar way. At that time there was no rise of temperature and I simply injected a cardiac stimulant as on the present occasion. He came back to his senses after two days practically without any treatment except some general measures such as cold douching over head, administration of stimulants, etc. Result of blood examination.?The films were full of trophozoites and schizonts of Plasmodium malairhe. From the result of blood examination it occurred to me that malarial infection might play some role in the present case.