QUESTION
What is the cause of abdominal pain in malaria?
ANSWER
Often, abdominal pain in malaria occurs in the early stages of malaria infection (first week or so) and can be caused by the rapid enlargement of the liver and spleen as they become inflamed. During malaria infection, and particularly that with Plasmodium falciparum, the most deadly and severe form of malaria, large numbers of red blood cell become sequestered in the liver and the spleen (as well as other major organs). A danger is that if the spleen becomes too enlarged, it may rupture, causing massive internal bleeding which can be incredibly dangerous to the patient, and lethal without immediate medical attention.
Hi,
I had Malaria 12 years ago, and I still have a high liver count which is 4 times over the normal reading. My GP says it is because I had malaria, not sure if this is correct, is there anyone that can confirm the facts and if so what recommendations or advise on how re repair my liver.
There really isn’t a lot of consistent evidence about long-term effects on the liver from malaria infection. It also depends a bit on what “counts” you are referring to – I would try to talk to a specialist in tropical medicine who might have greater experience with dealing with patients who have had malaria.
Yes its true. I have the same problem. My illness way almost fatal in 1996 but my liver is still not recovered today. I’m not an expert but its seem very logical since the parasite feed and multiply in the live. The severity of the illness should determine the amount of damage on the liver.