A 15 years old boy presented with fever and chills for 3 days. On examination, he was found to have delayed skin pinch time and dry oral mucosa. A peripheral blood smear revealed the following picture. Identify the pathogen involved ?
The clinical presentation of fever, chills, delayed skin pinch time, and dry oral mucosa suggests dehydration alongside febrile illness. In a 15-year-old, this could indicate a parasitic infection such as malaria, which is characterized by cyclical fever and symptoms due to erythrocytic cycle of the parasite.
Malaria is caused by Plasmodium species, and the blood smear is crucial for diagnosis. Given the options: Babesia, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium falciparum, and Salmonella typhi, the focus is on protozoan parasites affecting red blood cells. Babesia can cause malaria-like symptoms but is less common in this age group and geographical context.
Plasmodium vivax is known for causing tertian malaria, characterized by fever spikes every 48 hours. The classic peripheral blood smear finding for Plasmodium vivax is the presence of trophozoites or schizonts inside erythrocytes, sometimes with enlarged red blood cells.
Considering the provided image is labeled "Plasmodium vivax," and the clinical symptoms align with its infection profile, Plasmodium vivax is the pathogen involved in this case.
