A 4-day incubation period of plasmodium falciparum infection in a nonimmune patient in Ghana: A case report

Abstract

Plasmodium falciparum can cause severe infection and has the shortest incubation period compared with all the other Plasmodium species. Incubation periods of 9-14 days for the immune and 6-14 days for the nonimmune have been reported for P. falciparum. However, an incubation period of less than 5 days has not been reported, as of yet. This report presents a case of a 23-year-old nonimmune female who presented with signs and symptoms 4 days after being bitten by mosquitoes while visiting Ghana. The patient was successfully treated with a 1-day course of parenteral artesunate, followed by a 3-day course of oral artemisinin combination therapy.