COVID-19 Associated Imported Plasmodium vivax Malaria Relapse: First Reported Case and Literature Review

• Main Authors: Shahid Z, Karim N, Shahid F, Yousaf Z
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2021
• Subjects: sars-cov-2; fever; headaches; reactivation; co-infection; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doaj.org/article/37a372d616c64aa389cbd5523e6b2bd9

Zubair Shahid,1 Nadia Karim,1 Fakhar Shahid,2 Zohaib Yousaf1,3 1Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 2General Surgery, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar; 3Dresden International University, Dresden, GermanyCorrespondence: Zubair ShahidHamad Medical City, Hamad General Hospital, Doha, 3050, QatarTel [phone]Email [e-mail]: Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) is a protozoan parasite that causes vivax malaria. Disease relapse post-treatment is reported in P. vivax co-infection with other bacterial and parasitic infections, but Plasmodium vivax reactivation is not very common with viral infections. Early recognition and diagnosis of a Plasmodium vivax malaria relapse in a non-endemic region pose a diagnostic dilemma. COVID-19 co-infection compounds this dilemma due to overlapping symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for a favorable clinical outcome. We report a middle-aged gentleman with high-grade fever and headaches who had COVID-19 and was found to have a relapse of Plasmodium vivax malaria.Keywords: SARS-CoV-2, fever, headaches, reactivation, co-infection