Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026
08:20
In Vitro Assay of Plasmodium-Infected Red Blood Cell Killing by Cytotoxic Lymphocytes
Published on: August 17, 2022
Plasmodium vivax malaria: is it actually benign?
Harpal Singh1, Ankit Parakh, Srikanta Basu
1Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India. dr harpal81@yahoo.co.in
Journal of Infection and Public Health
|June 14, 2011
Summary
Plasmodium vivax malaria can cause severe complications in children, including anemia, thrombocytopenia, and organ dysfunction. Recognizing severe vivax malaria is crucial for timely intervention and improved outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric infectious diseases
- Malariology
- Clinical tropical medicine
Background:
- Plasmodium vivax (Pv) malaria is increasingly recognized as a significant cause of severe malaria in pediatric populations.
- Understanding the spectrum of severe manifestations is essential for effective clinical management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To retrospectively analyze and describe the diverse severe clinical, hematological, and biochemical manifestations of Plasmodium vivax malaria in children.
- To highlight the potential severity and unusual complications associated with Pv malaria.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of medical records of children (0-18 years) diagnosed with Pv malaria monoinfection.
- Inclusion criteria: confirmed Pv malaria via peripheral blood film and/or rapid diagnostic test (RDT).
- Analysis of clinical presentations, hematological parameters, and biochemical markers.
Main Results:
- Twenty-three pediatric patients with Pv malaria were analyzed.
- High prevalence of severe anemia (34%), thrombocytopenia (96%), and cerebral malaria (3 cases).
- Significant rates of liver dysfunction (17.3%), jaundice, and renal dysfunction (26%) were observed, with one fatal outcome.
Conclusions:
- Plasmodium vivax malaria can present with unusual and life-threatening complications in children.
- The designation 'Severe Vivax Malaria' should be considered as a distinct clinical entity in medical guidelines.
- Further research is warranted to elucidate the etiopathogenesis and optimize treatment strategies for severe Pv malaria.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Malaria
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...
00:58Symbiosis
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...
01:27Diversity of Protists II
Alveolates are a group of organisms recognized by the presence of alveoli, which are cytoplasmic sacs located beneath the cell membrane. While their function remains uncertain, alveoli may help regulate water balance by controlling how much water enters and leaves the cell. In dinoflagellates, these structures may serve as armor plates. There are three major types of alveolates: ciliates, which move using cilia; dinoflagellates, which use flagella for movement; and apicomplexans, which are...
01:28Toxoplasmosis
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...
01:28Amebiasis
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...
01:22American Trypanosomiasis
Chagas disease, or American trypanosomiasis, is a vector-borne parasitic infection caused by Trypanosoma cruzi, a flagellated protozoan (kinetoplastid) of the family Trypanosomatidae. The disease is endemic in Latin America, although cases are increasingly reported worldwide due to human migration. Transmission most commonly occurs when feces of infected triatomine bugs contaminate bite wounds or mucosal surfaces; additional routes include congenital, transfusional, transplant-related, and oral...