Inoculum size and severity of malaria induced with Plasmodium ovale

Although it might be expected that the size of the infecting inoculum would influence the severity of the consequent malaria, evidence that it does so is scarce. Using records from 80 non-immune neurosyphilis patients who received malaria therapy with a single strain of Plasmodium ovale by blood inoculation, the relationships between the number of trophozoites inoculated, the prepatent period, and measures of severity of the resulting malaria were examined. The number of trophozoites was not related to any of the outcome measures, but patients with shorter prepatent periods had higher and more peaks of fever and longer lasting infections.