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Which malaria parasite can cause fever spikes every day?
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malaria
Life cycle of a malaria parasite.
The malaria parasite that can cause fever spikes every day is Plasmodium knowlesi.12
While other species of Plasmodium typically follow 48-hour (tertian) or 72-hour (quartan) cycles of fever and chills, P. knowlesi has a 24-hour life cycle. This rapid cycle results in the daily rupture of infected red blood cells and the subsequent release of toxins into the bloodstream, which triggers the daily recurrence of fever.12