A woman develops liver inflammation, a high fever, and a severe decline in red blood cell numbers. Her blood is filled with a parasitic, single-celled organism. When asked about any recent travel, she tells the nurse about her trip to a tropical rain forest. It was a great trip except for the huge number of mosquitoes that bit her. She is probably infected with:

Question

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The symptoms described are consistent with malaria, which is caused by the parasitic single-celled organism Plasmodium. The woman's travel to a tropical rainforest with a high prevalence of mosquitoes further supports this diagnosis. Giardia, Trichomonas, Euglena, and Trypanosoma do not typically cause the symptoms described in this scenario.

A Woman Develops Liver Inflammation, a High Fever, and a Severe