A Case study of Imported Plasmodium falciparum Infection in Bandar-e-Kong in Southern Iran

Plasmodium species are the causative agents of malaria, which is considered as a mosquito-borne infectious disease transmitted by anopheles mosquitoes. It is endemic in the southern and south-eastern areas of the country. This study aimed to report a case of imported malaria infection in a Pakistani man in Bandare Kong located in the central region of Bandar Lengeh County in Hormozgan province, Iran.

A Pakistani male fisherman aged 21 years referred to a general practitioner in Bandare kong with symptoms such as a long-lasting fever that worsened every 2 days. He underwent a malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT), and the result of which was positive. Therefore, for further malaria testing, he was dispatched to Shohada hospital in Bandar Lengeh. All the laboratory tests findings were in an acceptable range, except for direct bilirubin titer, which was higher than the normal range (0.3 mg/dL) (< 0.2 mg/dL=normal). Blood smear test results also showed P. falciparum-associated malaria infection. According to the malaria therapy protocols followed in the hospital, 24 coartem pills at a dose of 4 pills per 12 hours were administered to the patient for 3 days, and then primaquine was administered simultaneously after three days, resulting in a rapid reduction in the parasitic load so that it could not be detected after 2 days.

In recent decades, most malaria patients diagnosed in Iran have been infected cases entered Iran from neighboring countries where malaria is endemic. Therefore, early diagnosis and therapy of imported malaria cases in endemic areas of Iran is essential and makes it possible to implement malaria preventive and control measures.