Blackwater fever

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Blackwater fever Classification and external resources
ICD-10	B50.
ICD-9	084.8
DiseasesDB	7751
MeSH	D001742

Blackwater fever is a complication of malaria characterized by intravascular haemolysis, haemoglobinuria and kidney failure. Blackwater fever is caused by heavy parasitization of red blood cells with Plasmodium falciparum. There has been at least one case, however, attributed to Plasmodium vivax. ^[1]

Contents 1 Presentation 2 Treatment 3 Cultural references 4 References

[edit] Presentation

Within a few days of onset there are chills, with rigor, high fever, jaundice, vomiting, rapidly progressive anemia and the passage of dark red or black urine.

The cause of hemolytic crises in this disease is unknown. There is rapid and massive destruction of red blood cells with the production of hemoglobinemia, hemoglobunuria, intense jaundice, anuria, and finally death in the majority of cases.

The most probable explanation for blackwater fever is an autoimmune reaction.

[edit] Treatment

The treatment is antimalarial chemotherapy, intravenous fluid and sometimes supportive care such as intensive care and dialysis.

Blackwater fever is a serious complication of malaria, but cerebral malaria has a higher mortality rate. Blackwater fever is much less common today than it was before 1950.^[2] It may be that quinine plays a role in triggering the condition, and this drug is no longer commonly used for malaria prophylaxis. Quinine remains important for treatment of malaria

[edit] Cultural references

• Out of Africa, a film based on the experiences of author Isak Dinesen.
• At Play in the Fields of the Lord, a novel by Peter Matthiessen.
• West with the Night, African memoir by aviatrix Beryl Markham.
• Burmese Days, a novel by George Orwell; several associates of Flory are noted to have died of blackwater fever in chapter 5.
• The Heart of the Matter, a novel by Graham Greene.

[edit] References

1. ^ Blackwater fever caused by Plasmodium vivax infection in the acquired immune deficiency syndrome
2. ^ Bruneel F, Gachot B, Wolff M, et al (2002). "[Blackwater fever]" (in French). Presse médicale (Paris, France : 1983) 31 (28): 1329-34. PMID 12355996. 

v • d • e Parasitic disease: protozoan infection (A06-A07, B50-B64) Apicomplexa Coccidia (Cryptosporidiosis, Isosporiasis, Cyclosporiasis, Toxoplasmosis) - Malaria (Blackwater fever) - Babesiosis Excavata Giardiasis - Trypanosomiasis (Sleeping sickness, Chagas disease) - Leishmaniasis (Cutaneous leishmaniasis, Visceral leishmaniasis) - Trichomoniasis Other Amoebiasis - Blastocystosis - Dientamoebiasis - Microsporidiosis -Primary amoebic meningoencephalitis