Congenital Malaria in a 2-Day-Old Neonate: A Case Report and Literature Review

Congenital malaria is the presence of malaria parasites in a blood smear obtained from a neonate usually within 24 hours to 7 days of life. It has for long been regarded a rare condition. However, recent data indicate that congenital malaria complicates around 35.9% of live births globally, 0–37% in Sub-Saharan Africa and about 4–6.1% in Eastern Uganda. We present a 2-day-old neonate who presented with fever, irritability, and failure to breastfeed. Laboratory tests indicated that the neonate had a positive Giemsa-stained peripheral smear for Plasmodium falciparum, with a positive malaria rapid diagnostic test (MRDT) for P. falciparum malaria. The mother had a negative peripheral film for malaria and a negative MRDT. The neonate was managed with intravenous artesunate with improvement.

Keywords

Congenital Malaria, Neonate, Case Report

Citation

Kajoba, D., Ivan Egesa, W., Jean Petit, H., Omar Matan, M., Laker, G., Mugowa Waibi, W., & Asiimwe, D. (2021). Congenital malaria in a 2-day-old neonate: a case report and literature review. Case Reports in Infectious Diseases, 2021.https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/9960006

URI

https://nru.uncst.go.ug/handle/123456789/8446

Collections

Medical and Health Sciences

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