Cerebral malaria: rare case

Abstract

Background: Malaria is caused by parasite of the genus Plasmodium and considered one of the biggest public health issues because almost half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria. It causes 2% of the world’s total deaths and millions of clinical infections. In 2022, 94% of cases and 95% of deaths occurred in the WHO African Region. Cerebral malaria the most severe neurological complication of infection with Plasmodium falciparum malaria. It is a clinical syndrome characterized by coma and asexual forms of the parasite on peripheral blood smears. The neurological complication, induced by cerebral malaria is irreversible and lethal, therefore it is of great significance to unravel its exact etiology, which may be beneficial for the effective management of this severe disease. In Mongolia, malaria normally not present unless the disease was contracted abroad. Considerable attention in malaria control and elimination is needed, yet, increasingly, domestic hospitals are unfamiliar with it, and so there is a risk of being overlooked. The following is the second case, to our knowledge, of cerebral malaria in Mongolia. Conclusion: Although Mongolia is not a malaria-endemic region and routine malaria testing is not commonly performed, the number of imported cases is increasing due to the growing mobility of the population—travel, study, tourism, and peacekeeping missions to Africa and Southeast Asia. Therefore, neurologists should be aware of the possibility of cerebral malaria when evaluating patients with neurological deficits who have a history of travel to malaria-endemic areas. This case highlights important clinical, imaging, and laboratory considerations for suspecting and diagnosing malaria in such patients.