The following symptoms and complaints may indicate malaria:
First uncharacteristic symptoms
- Fatigue
- General feeling of illness
- Irregular remitting fever
- Pain in the limbs
- Headache
Occurrence of exanthema (rash) only in very rare cases.
In malaria tropica, the following symptoms may also occur:
- Irregular febrile temperatures: re- or intermittent course; a continuous fever (febris continua) is also possible.
- Diarrhea (diarrhea) (sometimes).
- Hepatomegaly (enlargement of the liver).
- Splenomegaly (spleen enlargement)
- Thrombocytopenia – decrease in the number of platelets in the blood.
- Dyspnea (shortness of breath)
- Hypotension – lowered blood pressure
- Icterus (jaundice)
- Oliguria – decreased urine volume of 100-500 ml/d.
- Tachycardia – heartbeat too fast: > 100 beats per minute.
- Thrombocytopenia – number of platelets (thrombocytes) in the blood less than 150,000/μl (150 x 109/l).
Complicated courses possible (severe organ damage and even organ failure); seizures or other neurological manifestations of malaria rarely occur.
In malaria tertiana, the following symptoms occur after approximately one week:
- Every 48 hours (every 3rd day) occurring high fever up to 41 ° C with chills; after a few hours, the fever drops abruptly with profuse sweating
- Rather benign and mildly proceeding form; complicated courses possible
In malaria quartana, the following symptoms occur after about a week:
- Every 72 hours (every 4th day) there is a high fever up to 41 ° C with chills; after a few hours, the fever drops abruptly with profuse sweating
- Rather benign and mild form; “malarianephrosis” possible.
In P. knowlesi malaria, the following symptoms occur after approximately one week:
- Fever every day
- Complicated courses possible
