Malaria in pregnancy.

Malaria is a potentially lethal disease. In pregnancy its deleterious effects are aggravated by the depressed immune state. Every pregnant patient presenting with pyrexia of unknown origin should be screened for malarial parasites, especially if she has travelled to or come from an area in which malaria is endemic. Case histories of 2 pregnant women with malaria are presented and the diagnosis, treatment and chemoprophylaxis thereof are discussed.