Life-Threatening Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria in Patient after Visiting Angola-Case Report

Malaria is a potentially life-threatening disease, especially when complicated by a septic shock. It is caused by infection of erythrocytes with protozoan parasites of the genus Plasmodium that are inoculated into the humans by a feeding female anopheline mosquito. Of the four Plasmodia species, infection with Plasmodium (P.) falciparum is often associated with different types of complications and significant mortality. Most imported cases of malaria are not in tourists but in immigrants and their children who have returned to the country of their family’s origin to visit friends and relatives (so-called VFR travelers) and have forgone chemoprophylaxis.

We described a case of a 52 year old patient who came from Angola, an African country with endemic malaria before the occurrence of the first symptoms of the disease. The first symptoms were not recognized by the presence of nonspecific symptoms. Very soon the patient was gone under the hemodynamic unstability that eas followed by shock and high percentage parasitemia of 25%. A global health disorder was developed accompanied with hemodynamic instability and cerebral dysfunction. He performs pulmonary ventilation disorder and renal failure. Only data from social epidemiological survey of travel to the African country, was sufficient to cast doubt on malaria. The diagnosis was conducted using the standard method - peripheral blood smear. After turning antimalarial drugs, improvement of health status with complete recovery within 10 days was noticed. The only consequence of the disease is persistent hypertension that is sensitive to standard antihypertensive therapy.