[A severe case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria]

Malaria infections has been an important public health problem in Europe and Western countries in the last years. The international travels and moreover immigration from Africa and Asia countries has been rapidly increasing especially in Italy. The transmission and diffusion of malaria has increased, especially over last decade, due to vector resistance to insecticides and chemoresistance of these parasites to most antimalarial drugs. The authors presents a severe case of malaria infection that was caused by Plasmodium Falciparum in a one year-old female children, born in Italy, infected during a return in the parents' country of origin, Nigeria. She was admitted because of febrile gastroenteritis for five days. Since the child was in a good state of health, normal the medical examination, blood tests and radiography of the chest. The next day, persisting the fever, the child was somnolent, pale, and was present a haemoglobin concentration of 5.1 g/dl and a thrombocytopenia, a complicated falciparum malaria was diagnosed (8% parasitaemia). Treatment was started immediately with a single oral dose of Mefloquine (25 mg/Kg). Red blood cells were transfused once. The parasitaemia dropped to 4% and 0.8% in less than 48 hours. Weekly controls for the following four weeks remained negative.