Imported malaria in a hospital in Paris.

The number of cases of imported malaria diagnosed by the Parasitology Laboratory of the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital Group in Paris has shown a significant increase in recent years. From 1970 to 1979, 443 cases were diagnosed and the annual number recorded during this period rose from seven to 93 cases. This is causing anxiety since Plasmodium falciparum is the principal species observed, affecting two out of three patients. The principal epidemiological characters of malaria imported into France, the diagnostic difficulties and the therapeutic schedules are shown in a study of 192 case histories of patients observed by the authors.