{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]],"date-time":"2026-01-06T09:26:55Z","timestamp":1767691615573,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]],"date-time":"2026-01-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767657600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Although China has eliminated indigenous malaria, imported cases, particularly among young and middle-aged workers returning from Africa, constitute a major challenge for current epidemic prevention and control. In contrast, imported malaria in children is extremely rare and often subject to diagnostic delays in non-endemic areas due to atypical clinical presentations. Case presentation: We report a case of a 2-year-11-month-old boy who returned from Sudan, a malaria-endemic region, presenting with fever and diarrhea as the initial symptoms. The case was identified by the laboratory through the blood routine re-examination rules, crucially informed by the patient\u2019s epidemiological history. The diagnosis was ultimately confirmed as Plasmodium falciparum malaria by rapid diagnostic testing and microscopic examination. Conclusion: This diagnostic pathway exemplifies a closed-loop model of \u201cclinical suspicion \u2192 targeted laboratory testing \u2192 definitive pathogen identification.\u201d It provides a practical framework for the early detection and diagnosis of pediatric imported malaria with atypical presentations in non-endemic areas.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed11010015","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]],"date-time":"2026-01-06T08:42:58Z","timestamp":1767688978000},"page":"15","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Alert for Imported Malaria in Non-Endemic Areas: A Case Report of Atypical Falciparum Malaria in a Young Child and Diagnostic Experience"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-9711-7814","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiali","family":"Feng","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yang","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1441-3100","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bo","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ming","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Laboratory Medicine, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17050","DOI":"10.1038\/nrdp.2017.50","article-title":"Malaria","volume":"3","author":"Phillips","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat. 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