Plasmodium vivax malaria

Abstract

We report 11 cases of severe Plasmodium vivax malaria in Bikaner (western India). Patients exhibited cerebral malaria, renal failure, circulatory collapse, severe anemia, hemoglobinurea, abnormal bleeding, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and jaundice. Peripheral blood microscopy, parasite antigen-based assays, and parasite 18s rRNA gene-based polymerase chain reaction showed the presence of P. vivax and absence of P. falciparum.

Figure

Polymerase chain reaction analysis of patient samples: lane Pf = positive control showing P. falciparum band at position ≈1400 bp; lanes 1–7 and 9–12 = P. vivax– positive samples showing band at ≈500 bp; (lanes 1–7 correspond to cases 1–7, and lanes 9–12 correspond to patients 8–11 numbered in Tables 1 and 2.); lane 8 = sample showing bands at ≈1,400 bp and 500 bp, indicating mixed infection; lane 13 = negative control, normal human DNA; lane M = 1-kb DNA ladder mix (MBI Fermentas, SM#033)