Plasmodium vivax is one of the leading causes of malaria worldwide. Infections with this parasite cause diverse clinical manifestations, and recent studies revealed that infections with P. vivax can result in severe and fatal disease. Despite these facts, biological traits of the host response and parasite metabolism during P. vivax malaria are still largely underexplored. Parasitemia is clearly related to progression and severity of malaria caused by P. falciparum, however the effects of parasitemia during infections with P. vivax are not well understood.