Korean J Clin Pathol.  2001 Oct;21(5):360-364.

A Case of Plasmodium vivax Infection Diagnosed after Treatment of Imported Falciparum Malaria

• Shin KS
• Kim JS
• Ryu SW
• Suh IB
• Lim CS

Abstract

In South Korea, most imported malaria has been caused by Plasmodium falciparum and little mixed infection has been reported which is frequently observed in other countries. We report a case of mixed malarial infection with P. falciparum/P. vivax. It was diagnosed by using three kinds of dipstick tests (two malarial antibody tests and one pLDH immunocapture assay), polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and a peripheral blood smear in a nineteen-year-old woman who had traveled to Bangladesh. The patient was diagnosed with P. falciparum on the first-visit blood sample and P. vivax with the second-visit sample by using all three kinds of dipstick tests. Peripheral blood smears and a PCR of the patient's blood also showed P. falciparum and P. vivax parasites and DNA bands of two species of malaria. In conclusion, an imported malaria case should be accurately diagnosed using the malarial antibody detection kit, pLDH immunocapture assay, and PCR in addition to the peripheral blood smear for the possibility of mixed infection with malaria.

Keyword

Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium vivax; Mixed infection; Dipstick; PCR

MeSH Terms

Bangladesh
Coinfection
DNA
Female
Humans
Korea
Malaria*
Parasites
Plasmodium falciparum
Plasmodium vivax*
Plasmodium*
Polymerase Chain Reaction
DNA