What are the different types of malaria parasites?
Four species of malaria parasites can infect humans and cause illness: • Plasmodium falciparum (or P. falciparum) • Plasmodium malariae (or P. malariae) • Plasmodium vivax (or P. vivax) • Plasmodium ovale (or P. ovale) Generally, only falciparum malaria is potentially life-threatening. Patients with severe falciparum malaria may develop liver and kidney failure, convulsions, and coma. Infections with P. vivax and P. ovale may cause less serious illness, but the parasites can remain dormant in the liver for many months, causing a reappearance of symptoms months, or even years, later. What are the risks of acquiring malaria? The risk of acquiring malaria depends on: • traveler’s destination • duration of travel • place where the traveler will spend the evenings and nights. (Anopheles mosquitoes bite most often during nighttime hours, from dusk to dawn.) What are the symptoms of malaria? Early stages of malaria may be similar to the flu. The following are the most common symptoms of malar
