Malaria

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Digestive system organs	Malaria	Malaria, microscopic view of cellular parasites	Malaria, microscopic view of cellular parasites
Malaria, photomicrograph of cellular parasites	Mosquito, adult feeding on the skin	Mosquito, egg raft	Mosquito, larvae
Mosquito, pupa

Quartan malaria; Falciparum malaria; Biduoterian fever; Blackwater fever; Tertian malaria; Plasmodium

Malaria, especially Falciparum malaria, is a medical emergency requiring hospitalization. Chloroquine is a frequently used anti-malarial medication, but quinidine or quinine plus doxycycline, tetracycline, or clindamycin; or atovaquone plus proguanil (Malarone); or mefloquine or artesunate; or the combination of pyrimethamine and sulfadoxine, are given for chloroquine-resistant infections. The choice of medication depends in part on where you were when you were infected.

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Aggressive supportive medical care, including intravenous (IV) fluids and other medications and breathing (respiratory) support may be needed.

The outcome is expected to be good in most cases of malaria with treatment, but poor in Falciparum infection with complications.

• Destruction of blood cells (hemolytic anemia)
• Liver failure and kidney failure
• Meningitis
• Respiratory failure from fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema)
• Rupture of the spleen leading to massive internal bleeding (hemorrhage)

Call your health care provider if you develop fever and headache after visiting the tropics.

Review Date: 05/30/2009
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; Jatin M. Vyas, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Assistant in Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).