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Which Plasmodium species causes the most severe malaria symptoms?
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malaria
Life cycle of a malaria parasite.
The Plasmodium falciparum parasite is responsible for the most severe and deadliest form of malaria.12
This species is significantly more virulent than others because it infects a much larger proportion of red blood cells—often exhibiting ten times the parasite density of other species. Furthermore, red blood cells infected with P. falciparum tend to adhere to the walls of tiny blood vessels, or capillaries, which obstructs blood flow to vital organs. When this occurs in the brain, it leads to a life-threatening complication known as cerebral malaria, which can rapidly progress to coma and death if not treated promptly.1