Plasmodium ovale: a case of not-so-benign tertian malaria

Kathy-Anne Strydom, Farzana Ismail, John Frean

Severe malaria is most commonly associated with Plasmodium falciparum. Plasmodium vivax is increasingly recognized as being capable of causing severe disease. In contrast, Plasmodium ovale is considered as a cause of benign disease and evidence supporting the occurrence of severe or complicated ovale infection is rare. This report describes a case of severe P. ovale infection in a patient presenting with jaundice, respiratory distress, severe thrombocytopenia, petechiae, and hypotension. He had no apparent underlying risk factors for severe disease.