Severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria Malária grave por Plasmodium falciparum

Malaria is the world’s leading parasitic disease and affects approximately 40% of the world’s population (approximately 2.4 billion people) in more than 100 countries.(1) The disease, that is caused for Plamodium spp., particularly affects populations in tropical and subtropical areas, especially in developing and underdeveloped countries. Brazil has the largest number of cases on the American continent with an estimated 300,000 yearly cases.(2) Reporting this disease is mandatory in Brazil. Malaria is mostly seen in Africa, the South American Amazon Region and Southeast Asia. The highest incidence of the disease is in the South Saharan region of Africa.(3) In Brazil, malaria is predominantly seen in the Legal Amazon Region, which includes the Brazilian states of Acre, Amapá, Amazon, Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima and Tocantins.(4) Tourists from malaria-free regions who visit areas with a high prevalence of malaria are highly vulnerable to infection for Plasmodium spp. when exposed to the disease. If they are not appropriately treated, they may have their diagnosis delayed upon return home. Malaria is the most frequent cause of post-travel fever and is the most common and preventable cause of infectious death among travelers.(5) Severe malaria is caused by Plasmodium falciparum, a protozoan belonging to the Sporozoa class of the Plasmodiidae family whose genus Andréia Patrícia Gomes1, Rodrigo Roger Vitorino2, Anielle de Pina Costa2, Eduardo Gomes de Mendonça3, Maria Goreti de Almeida Oliveira3, Rodrigo Siqueira-Batista1