Malaria
A mosquito-borne Plasmodium infection in which travel history, species and severity determine how quickly treatment must begin.
Definition
Malaria is a Plasmodium infection transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes. In the UK it is usually imported after travel or residence in a malaria-risk area; P. falciparum can cause rapidly fatal severe disease.
First principles
Malaria alternates between liver and red-cell stages
An infected female Anopheles mosquito injects sporozoites, which first develop in hepatocytes before merozoites enter the bloodstream and invade red cells. Repeated red-cell invasion and rupture produces fever, haemolysis and anaemia. The cycle is often less classically periodic in P. falciparum, so a textbook fever pattern is not required.
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