The first case was patient L.T.M (33 years old, Lao Cai) who traveled in Africa for about a month and returned 3 months ago. After returning home, she started to have a high fever of 40°C, headaches, nausea, fatigue, and pale skin. Despite being treated at many hospitals with a diagnosis of thrombocytopenic syndrome for more than a month, the condition did not improve, the patient still had a continuous high fever, reduced all three blood vessels (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets), appeared convulsions, disturbances of consciousness and was transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Duc Minh, Emergency Department, said: The patient was admitted to the hospital in a coma and had a continuous high fever. Blood test results showed a positive for Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite (the most common cause of male diseases) with a very high density of parasites in the blood, 1.9 million kst/mm3. This is severe brain-menorrhea, with a very high risk of death. Thanks to active treatment with resuscitation against cerebral edema combined with oral and injectable anti-parasite drugs, the patient began to respond well, and consciousness gradually improved, but blood levels still needed further monitoring.
The second patient is Mr. N.V.K (45 years old, Hung Yen), a labor export worker in Mali. After returning, he had a high fever of 39°C, chills all over his body, pain in the right lower ribs, poor appetite, and fatigue. Hospitalized in a state of septic shock, multiple organ failure, and acute liver failure. The patient was immediately transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases.
At the Intensive Care Center, test results showed that patient K was positive for the malignant malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum, with a parasitic density of 48,000 kst/mm3.
Dr. Tran Thi Nhung, Intensive Care Center, said: After more than a week of intensive treatment with malaria parasitic drugs, the patient had no parasites in the blood, escaped shock and recovered health. The patient has now been discharged from the hospital.
The third case is Ms. V.T.P (38 years old, Hai Phong), who has just returned from Nigeria. Immediately after returning home, the patient had a fever, fatigue and quickly fell into a deep coma. The patient was placed with an endotracheal tube and urgently transferred to the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Here, the doctor diagnosed her with severe brain-multi- organizational malaria, multiple organ failure, shock, and a very high risk of death.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Duc Minh emphasized: Malaria is an infectious disease caused by Plasmodium parasite, transmitted through Anopheles mosquitoes, commonly found in tropical countries. Typical symptoms are fever in three stages: fever, chills, sweating. However, if there is no careful exploitation of epidemiological factors (travel, work in epidemic areas), it is easy to diagnose incorrectly. In particular, when the disease progresses to shock, multiple organ failure or brain damage, the risk of death is extremely high if not treated promptly.
Doctor Minh recommends: People with acute fever symptoms after traveling abroad, especially from African countries, should immediately go to a specialized hospital for timely testing and diagnosis. Those who are preparing to travel to a risk area should go to a medical facility for prevention consultation or use an anti-malware medicine before the trip, to limit the risk of disease and dangerous complications.
