Severe and complicated Falciparum malaria in Italian travelers

Imported malaria has been an important public health problem in Western countries in the last 20 years, since international travel has become an increasing habit for nonimmune populations and since chemoresistance to most antimalarial drugs has been spreading throughout the world. Moreover, immigration from African and Asian countries has been rapidly increasing, especially in Italy in the last few years. Malaria had been widespread in Italy in the past, but no new autochthonous cases have been reported since 1961. Nonetheless the number of reported cases throughout the country has been steadily growing because of imported malaria1-3 in nonimmune travelers as well as in immigrants from tropical countries. In our experience as well as according to other statistics, the vast majority of patients have Plasmodium falciparum malaria acquired in Africa.4,5 The clinical spectrum of this disease is wide, and severe cases are frequently observed, including a few fatal cases, which, although rare, are highlighted by mass media and impress the public opinion.5-8 The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical spectrum of malaria, with particular interest in severe falciparum malaria, and to define the frequency of this phenomenon and epidemiologic characteristics of patients who experience it as a life-threatening disease.