Prolonged Latent Period with Plasmodium falciparum Infections

Recrudescence of Plasmodium falciparum in a Primigravida after Nearly 3 Years of Latency

“…Walters in 1960 and Mahmood in 1966 reported cases of imported P. falciparum in the United Kingdom in Nigerian women after prolonged quiescence, specifically at 17 and 19 months. 13,14 In each case, the patient was in the second trimester of pregnancy and presented with anemia. Following diagnosis and treatment, no complications ensued.…”

“…7 Of all these cases, only Mahmood described a multigravid patient. 14 Limited information has been reported on imported P. falciparum malaria of any duration of recrudescence during pregnancy. In the United States, Subramanian and others described three Nigerian national women each diagnosed with P. falciparum, two during the third trimester and one during the second trimester.…”

Interaction among Virus, Cell and Organism

“…They confirmed that naturally acquired quartan malaria parasites may maintain themselves for at least 20 years in the human organism and that parasites carriage may occur without any symptoms of disease. MAHMOOD (1966) reports that a healthy Nigerian mother of two children came to England in November 1963, In March 1965, when she was 22 weeks pregnant, she complained of fever of 2 days duration, and malaria parasites were found in blood examination. This case underlines the fact that Plasmodium falciparum may give rise to fever a considerable period of time after a person has been removed from a malarious zone.…”