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Malaria (Plasmodium spp.)
1990 Case Definition
Clinical description
Signs and symptoms are variable, but chills followed
by fever and sweating constitute the classic malaria paroxysm.
The diagnosis should be considered for any person who has been
exposed to infection. Complications such as cerebral malaria
may occur in Plasmodium falciparum infection. Asymptomatic
parasitemia may occur among immune persons.
Laboratory criteria for diagnosis
Case classification
Confirmed: a person's
first attack of laboratory-confirmed malaria that occurs in the
United States, regardless of whether the person has experienced
previous attacks of malaria while outside the country
Comment
A subsequent attack experienced by the same person
but caused by a different Plasmodium species is counted
as an additional case. A repeated attack experienced by the same
person and caused by the same species in the United States is
not considered an additional case.
Blood smears from doubtful cases should be referred
to the National Malaria Repository, CDC, for confirmation of
the diagnosis.
In addition, cases are classified according to
the following World Health Organization categories:
- Autochthonous:
- Indigenous: malaria acquired
by mosquito transmission in an area where malaria is
a regular occurrence
- Introduced: malaria acquired
by mosquito transmission from an imported case in an
area where malaria is not a regular occurrence
- Imported: malaria acquired outside
a specific area (the United States and its territories)
- Induced: malaria acquired through
artificial means (e.g., blood transfusion, common syringes,
or malariotherapy)
- Relapsing: renewed manifestation (of
clinical symptoms and/or parasitemia) of malarial infection
that is separated from previous manifestations of the same
infection by an interval greater than any interval due to the
normal periodicity of the paroxysms
- Cryptic: an isolated case of malaria
not associated with secondary cases, as determined by appropriate
epidemiologic investigations
See also:
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