Congenital malaria in The Netherlands.

A case of Plasmodium vivax malaria in a 3-months-old-infant, born in the Netherlands from an Indian mother, is described. The infant was admitted the day after birth with a febrile illness of unknown origin and suffered thereafter from recurrent anaemia and hepatosplenomegaly. P. vivax was also found in the peripheral blood film of the mother. The concept of congenital transmission was also supported by the early presence of specific IgM-class antibodies in the serum of the infant. This is the first case reported from the Netherlands.