Congenital malaria

Abstract

Malaria is a disease caused by the parasite Plasmodium spp. and transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. Malaria infection during pregnancy determines a high risk of morbidity and mortality in both the mother and the fetus. It is known that there is a greater susceptibility to infection in primiparous women and during the second trimester of pregnancy. We describe below the case of a preterm newborn of 16 days of age, product of primigesta who in the second trimester of pregnancy presented infection by Plasmodium vivax; the newborn is admitted for presenting convulsive episodes, jaundice and hemoglobin of 6.8 gr / dl, reaching a parasitological diagnosis through thick blood. The newborn antimalarial treatment was performed with chloroquine, with an adequate clinical response, confirmed by thick-film negativization at the end of the treatment; revealing the importance nowadays of knowing, suspecting and discarding this pathology, through an adequate clinical history, with relevance in family history, to avoid neonatal consequences and applying timely treatment.