Ho Chi Minh City appeared the first 2 cases of malaria from Africa

On June 4, Dr. BS Ho Dang Trung Nghia, Head of the Vietnam – UK Infection Department, Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, said that these two malaria cases both returned from Africa.

A 24-year-old female patient, residing in Binh Thanh District, is an international student returning from Cameroon (Central Africa). After a day of entry, she started to have a fever, went to a number of hospitals, took medicine, and couldn’t get better. On the 6th day, the patient had a blood test to detect malaria parasites and was transferred to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. The patient’s condition at the time of admission was quite severe, coma, jaundice, high density of malaria parasites, anemia and red-brown urine like sassafras.

The other case is a 63-year-old male patient, Chinese nationality, imported from Ivory Coast (West Africa). The patient had a fever during the journey back to Vietnam, when he landed at Tan Son Nhat airport, he was taken to a hospital by the company, and tested for malaria.

This is a case of severe malaria with high parasite density, kidney failure, liver damage, lactic acidosis.

“Both patients were treated in the intensive care unit with anti-malarial drugs and a combination of supportive treatments,” said Doctor Nghia.

Previously, the Center for Tropical Diseases, Bach Mai Hospital received treatment for two patients with malaria after returning from Angola. These are the first two cases of malaria from Africa in Vietnam.

According to Dr. Nghia, malaria is less and less common, so patients are often detected late. The disease is often misdiagnosed with Dengue hemorrhagic fever circulating in Vietnam. When examining a patient with fever, it is necessary to carefully investigate the epidemiology.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever usually occurs in urban areas, where the population is densely populated. In contrast, malaria mainly occurs in endemic areas, especially African countries. In Vietnam, malaria should be considered if the patient lives or travels to mountainous areas, coastal mangrove areas, etc.

Doctors recommend people who go to work or return from malaria-endemic areas such as Binh Phuoc, Central Highlands provinces, Laos, Cambodia, Africa, people who have had a blood transfusion before, or have had malaria recently, if they have a fever. should go to medical facilities for medical examination and diagnostic tests for malaria.

Currently, malaria can be diagnosed easily with blood smears and rapid tests.