Plasmodium malariae is a parasitic protozoa that causes malaria in humans. It is closely related to Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax which are responsible for most malarial infection. It is a so-called "benign malaria" and is not nearly as dangerous as that produced by P. falciform or P. vivax. P. malariae causes fevers that recur at approximately three-day intervals (a quartan fever), longer than the two-day intervals of the other malarial parasites.
Microscopically, the parasitised red blood cell (erythrocyte) is never enlarged and may even appear smaller than that of normal cells. The cytoplasm is not decolourised and no dots are visible on the cell surface. The food vacuole is small and the parasite is compact. Cells seldom host more than one parasite. Band forms, where the parasite forms a thick band across the width of the infected cell, are characteristic of this species. Large grains of malarial pigment are often seen in these parasites: more so than any other Plasmodium species.
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