Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Protocol for Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Mosquitoes and Infection Phenotype Determination
14:10

Protocol for Plasmodium falciparum Infections in Mosquitoes and Infection Phenotype Determination

Published on: July 4, 2007

Epidemiologic features impacting the presentation of malaria in children in Houston

Gloria E Oramasionwu1, Susan H Wootton, Morven S Edwards

  • 1Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.

The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
|November 4, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Severe malaria in US children is often linked to vacation travel without proper prophylaxis. Optimizing malaria prevention strategies, especially for travelers, can reduce severe illness in non-endemic areas.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Malaria is diagnosed in US children despite available chemoprophylaxis.
  • Features influencing malaria presentation in non-endemic settings are not well-characterized in pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize the features and risk factors associated with malaria presentation and severity in children diagnosed in a non-endemic setting.

Main Methods:

  • A retrospective chart review of children with confirmed malaria from 1994-2007 at four Houston tertiary hospitals.
  • Analysis included patient demographics, travel history, clinical presentation, and treatment outcomes.

Main Results:

  • Of 104 children, 21% had severe malaria, with US-residing children accounting for 86% of severe cases.
  • Risk factors for severe malaria included vacation travel, female gender, US birth, short travel duration, and delayed presentation.
  • Severe malaria cases presented with more vomiting, hepatomegaly, heart murmur, and higher parasitemia.

Conclusions:

  • Severe malaria in Houston children was associated with travel to endemic regions without adequate prophylaxis.
  • Improving adherence to malaria prophylactic regimens could decrease malaria-related morbidity in non-endemic countries.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Phenotypic Analysis of Rodent Malaria Parasite Asexual and Sexual Blood Stages and Mosquito Stages08:23

Phenotypic Analysis of Rodent Malaria Parasite Asexual and Sexual Blood Stages and Mosquito Stages

Published on: May 30, 2019

Methods to Investigate the Regulatory Role of Small RNAs and Ribosomal Occupancy of Plasmodium falciparum10:22

Methods to Investigate the Regulatory Role of Small RNAs and Ribosomal Occupancy of Plasmodium falciparum

Published on: December 4, 2015

Related Concept Videos

Malaria01:29

Malaria

Malaria pathogenesis in humans reflects a delicate interplay between parasite biology and host response. Clinical illness reflects a host’s immune response to the parasite’s asexual replication cycle, which is often asymptomatic in individuals with partial immunity. From the parasite's perspective, transmission between mosquito and human with minimal host pathology is evolutionarily advantageous. Among the six Plasmodium species infecting humans, P. falciparum and P. vivax dominate in global...
Yellow Fever01:18

Yellow Fever

Yellow fever is a viral hemorrhagic disease caused by the yellow fever virus (YFV), a member of the Flaviviridae family. It is transmitted primarily by Aedes and Haemagogus mosquitoes in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa and South America. After transmission through a mosquito bite, the virus initially replicates in skin-resident immune cells such as dendritic cells and macrophages. These cells then migrate to the lymph nodes, where viral replication increases, eventually leading to...
Toxoplasmosis01:28

Toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis, a zoonotic disease caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii, poses significant public health challenges globally due to its high seroprevalence and varied clinical manifestations. As an obligate intracellular parasite, T. gondii can infect all warm-blooded vertebrates, but felids are its only definitive hosts, shedding unsporulated oocysts into the environment. Humans typically acquire the infection through ingestion of tissue cysts in undercooked meat or oocysts from...
Encephalitis l: Introduction01:19

Encephalitis l: Introduction

Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma, most often due to infections or autoimmune processes. It presents with neuropsychiatric features such as fever, altered mental status, behavioral changes, cognitive dysfunction, seizures, focal deficits, and sometimes autonomic instability. In some cases, the meninges are also involved, resulting in meningoencephalitis.Infectious CausesInfectious encephalitis is most commonly viral but can also result from bacterial, fungal, or parasitic...
Amebiasis01:28

Amebiasis

Entamoeba histolytica, a protozoan parasite, is responsible for intestinal and extraintestinal amebiasis. Though a significant proportion of infections remain asymptomatic, approximately 50 million individuals annually are estimated to present with clinical disease, resulting in up to 100,000 deaths globally. The disease burden is disproportionately high in regions with lower socioeconomic status, such as parts of India, Africa, Mexico, and Latin America.Etiology and TransmissionThe infective...
Symbiosis00:58

Symbiosis

Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...