Diagnostic delay for imported malaria: A case of Plasmodium falciparum malaria misdiagnosed as common cold

Abstract

A 37-year-old Japanese man experienced fever and headache 8 days after returning to Japan following a 6-month stay in Nigeria. He visited two clinics but was sent home from each with a diagnosis of common cold. He was eventually brought to the emergency department with an altered mental status. Severe P. falciparum malaria was confirmed; his initial parasitemia index was 5.4%. He recovered fully with antimalarial treatment. This case suggests that primary care physicians should obtain recent travel history and consider malaria for any febrile patient who has returned from a malaria-endemic area.