Profound thrombocytopenia in Plasmodium vivax malaria

In India, malaria is endemic and commonly caused by Plasmodium vivax and P. falciparum. Thrombocytopenia is a common finding in falciparum infection but is rare in P. vivax infection. We report profound thrombocytopenia in a 43-year-old female patient due to P. vivax infection. The platelet count was as low as 5 x 10(9)/liter, such severe thrombocytopenia has never been reported in vivax malaria.