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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2019; 11(02): 161-163
DOI: 10.4103/JLP.JLP_19_19
Case Report

Exflagellation of Plasmodium vivax in peripheral blood: An uncommon finding and its significance

Mukund N. Sable
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Gaurav Chhabra
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
,
Shruti Mishra
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship: Nil
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Abstract

Malaria continues to be a major public health problem. The life cycle of malaria is completed in two hosts Anopheles mosquito – definitive host and humans – the intermediate host. Exflagellation of microgametocyes in the life cycle of Plasmodium vivax occurs in mosquitoes and is rarely seen in human peripheral blood. Less than 15 occurrences of exflagellated microgametocyte of Plasmodium species have been reported to date. The appearance of exflagellated microgametes in human blood may pose a diagnostic dilemma due to its resemblance with other hemoparasites such as Borrelia and Trypanosoma.

Key words

Exflagellation - hemoparasites - malaria - microgametocyte - Plasmodium


Publication History

Received: 31 January 2019

Accepted: 22 March 2019

Article published online:
06 April 2020

© 2019.

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd.
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