Plasmodium malariae
![](/Images/godic/202502/03/Mature_Plasmodium_malariae_schizont_PHIL_2715_lores3456.jpg")
![Geographical areas of malaria transmission](/Images/godic/202502/03/Geographical_areas_of_malaria_transmission_20143456.png")
![As a protist, the plasmodium is a eukaryote of the phylum Apicomplexa. Unusual characteristics of this organism in comparison to general eukaryotes include the rhoptry, micronemes, and polar rings near the apical end. The plasmodium is known best for the infection it causes, malaria.](/Images/godic/202502/03/Plasmodium3456.png")
![Plasmodium malariae wiki](/Images/godic/202502/03/Falciparum-life-cycle-final3456.jpg")
Plasmodium malariae is a parasitic protozoa that causes malaria in humans. It is one of several species of Plasmodium parasites that infect humans including Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax which are responsible for most malarial infection. While found worldwide, it is a so-called "benign malaria" and is not nearly as dangerous as that produced by P. falciparum or P. vivax. It causes fevers that recur at approximately three-day intervals (a quartan fever), longer than the two-day (tertian) intervals of the other malarial parasites, hence its alternate names quartan fever and quartan malaria.