A 46-year-old man is rushed to the emergency room having severe headaches and recurrent fever started 1 week ago, a week after he came back from a trip to Africa. Physical examination reveals high fever and splenomegaly. Brain imaging reveals signs of cerebral involvement.
Which of these following parasites is likely causing the patient’s symptoms?
A- Babesia microti
B- Plasmodium falciparum
C- Plasmodium malariae
D- Plasmodium vivax
Plasmodium falciparum causes malaria. Spread by the Anopheles mosquito, P. falciparum infection is detected by a blood smear. The patient is suffering from cerebral malaria and the only species of Plasmodium that causes cerebral malaria is P. falciparum.
The correct answer is B