Clinical Manifestations

Symptoms of Malaria

Symptoms range from very mild to severe and even death

Malaria is curable if diagnosed and treated quickly and correctly

(CDC - Malaria - About Malaria - Symptoms, August 22, 2023) 

Common Symptoms

Most symptoms begin as early as one week after infection or as late as a year or more

• Fever

• Chills

• Sweats

• Headache

• Nausea and vomiting

• Diarrhea

• Body aches

• General malaise (weakness and discomfort)

• Jaundice (yellow coloring of the skin and eyes)

• Dark-pigmented urine (blackwater fever)

• Hepatomegaly (enlargement of liver)

• Splenomegaly (enlargement of spleen)

• Dry cough

• Lost Weight

• Increased respiratory rate

(CDC - Malaria - About Malaria - Disease, March 22, 2022) 

Severe Malaria Manifestations

• Cerebral malaria, with abnormal behaviour, impairment of consciousness, seizures, coma, or other neurologic abnormalities

• Severe anaemia due to hemolysis (destructive of the red blood cells

• Dark-pigmented urine (blackwater fever)

• Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an inflammatory reaction in the lungs that inhibits oxygen exchange, which may occur even after the parasite counts have decreased in response to treatment

• Abnormalities in blood coagulation

• Low blood pressure caused by cardiovascular collapse

• Acute kidney injury

• Hyperparasitemia (red blood cells are infected by malaria parasite more than 5%)

• Metabolic acidosis (excessive acidity in blood and tissue fluids)

(CDC - Malaria - About Malaria - Disease, March 22, 2022) 

Other Manifestation

• Neurologic defects in children include ataxia (trouble with movement), palsies (paralysis), speech difficulties, deafness, and blindness

• Severe anaemia in children (recurrent infections with P. falciparum)

• Malaria during pregnancy (especially P. falciparum) - delivery of a low-birth-weight baby or premature delivery 

• Rupture of the spleen (P. vivax-rare)

• Nephrotic syndrome (a chronic, severe kidney disease) (repeated infection of P. malariae)

• If not treated right away, the infection can become serious and may cause death

(CDC - Malaria - About Malaria - Disease, March 22, 2022)