BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Classically associated with Plasmodium (P.) falciparum, neurological complications in severe malaria is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. However, reports implicate the long considered benign P. vivax for causing severe malaria as well. We aimed to analyse the cerebral complications in malaria, and study if there is a species-related difference in the pr...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Unlike Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax rarely causes severe disease in healthy travellers or in temperate endemic regions and has been regarded as readily treatable with chloroquine. However, in tropical areas, recent reports have highlighted severe and fatal disease associated with P. vivax infection. We review the evidence for severe disease and the spread of drug-re...

Previous analyses have suggested that immunity to non-cerebral severe malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum is acquired after only a few infections, whereas longitudinal studies show that some children experience multiple episodes of severe disease, suggesting that immunity may not be acquired so quickly. We fitted a mathematical model for the acquisition and loss of immunity to severe disease t...

INTRODUCTION Thrombocytopenia is a common complication in malaria patients. The relationship between abnormal platelet profile and clinical status in malaria patients is unclear. In low and unstable endemic regions where vivax malaria predominates, the hematologic profiles of malaria patients and their clinical utility are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to characterize the thrombo...

HIV infection is widespread throughout the world and is especially prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Similarly, Plasmodium falciparum, the most common cause of severe malaria, affects large areas of sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and Southeast Asia. Although initial studies suggested that HIV and malaria had independent impact upon patient outcomes, recent studies have ind...

organs may be affected simultaneously or sequentially. It is still an enigma why one, or more or even none of the organ is affected. It is also not clear yet, when and which organ will be failing. Even persons from one geographical area may have different presentations. There are a lot of heterogeneity and unpredictable consequences. World Health Organization1 has outlined the criteria for seve...

Cerebral malaria is associated with decreased production of nitric oxide and decreased levels of its precursor, l-arginine. Abnormal amino acid metabolism may thus be an important factor in malaria pathogenesis. We sought to determine if other amino acid abnormalities are associated with disease severity in falciparum malaria. Subjects were enrolled in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (children) (n = 12...

The detection of severe malaria in resource-constrained settings is often difficult because of requirements for laboratory infrastructure and/or clinical expertise. The aim of this study, therefore, was to explore the utility of a multiple antigen (HRP-2/pLDH) rapid diagnostic test (RDT) as a low-cost, surrogate marker of patients at high risk for complications of severe malaria. We reviewed pr...

The first symptoms of malaria, common to all the different malaria species, are nonspecific and mimic a flu-like syndrome. Although fever represents the cardinal feature, clinical findings in malaria are extremely diverse and may range in severity from mild headache to serious complications leading to death, particularly in falciparum malaria. As the progression to these complications can be ra...

UNLABELLED Plasmodium vivax (Pv) malaria is being increasingly recognized as a cause of severe malaria in children. OBJECTIVES To describe the various severe manifestations associated with vivax malaria by retrospective analysis of records. METHODS Children between the ages of 0 and 18 years with a confirmed diagnosis of Pv malaria monoinfection done by peripheral blood film (PBF) and/or ra...