Two cases of imported malaria in Western Romania,2010-2011

Malaria is a major problem for European travelers to endemic regions.In Romania during 1980-2007 approximately 20 imported cases were detected annually.The aim of our short communication is to present 2 interesting cases of imported malaria detected in Western Romania.The first patienl was a 20-year female who traveled to India and acquired an infection with Plasmodium vivax(P.vivax).The second patient,a 60-year female,contracted an infection with Plasmodium falciparum(P.falciparum) during a trip to Ghana:the evolution of the disease was severe with many complications and the patient finally died.The cases presented revealed the difficulties in establishing a correct diagnosis of malaria in a non-endemic country, consequences of an incomplete taken anamnesis.Travel history should always represent a mandatory part of a well conducted investigation.At the same time,we must underline the importance of a correct and complete prophylaxis prior to every departure to tropical countries.