[Tropical malaria with a fatal outcome]

Area of Science:

• Tropical medicine
• Parasitology
• Infectious diseases

Background:

• Tropical malaria is a vector-borne parasitic disease.
• Russia experiences imported malaria cases, including fatal ones.
• Cerebral malaria presents severe clinical manifestations and morphological changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide information on the epidemiology, etiology, and clinical aspects of tropical malaria.
• To describe a fatal case of cerebral tropical malaria.
• To identify genetic markers associated with drug resistance.

Main Methods:

• Review of epidemiological and etiological data.
• Clinical case description of cerebral tropical malaria.
• Genetic analysis of Plasmodium parasites to detect mutations.

Main Results:

• The study details the clinical course and pathological findings of a fatal cerebral malaria case.
• Morphological alterations in organs and tissues were documented.
• The K76T mutation in the Plasmodium gene, linked to drug resistance, was identified.

Conclusions:

• Imported tropical malaria poses a public health risk, even in non-endemic regions like Russia.
• Understanding clinical and morphological features is crucial for diagnosis and management.
• The presence of the K76T mutation highlights the challenge of drug-resistant malaria parasites.