Unusual Presentation and Difficult to Diagnose: A Case of Malaria With Negative Thick and Thin Giemsa Stain Smear Tests

Malaria is a parasitic disease that is spread by the bite of an Anopheles mosquito carrying the infection. Microscopic analysis of thick and thin Giemsa-stained smears is the gold standard for diagnosis. If the initial test is negative, but clinical suspicion is high, further smears are required. A 25-year-old man presented with abdominal distension, cough, and a seven-day fever. In addition, the patient developed pleural effusions and ascites. The thick and thin smear tests for malaria and all other fever testing came out negative. Plasmodium vivax was later identified by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). There was a considerable improvement once the anti-malarial medicine was started. It was difficult to diagnose him because pleural effusion and ascites are unusual for someone with malaria. Furthermore, several Giemsa stain smears and malaria quick diagnostic tests were negative, and only a few labs in our country performed RT-PCR.