About Malaria
History
Possibly the oldest known disease, malaria takes its name from the Latin for ‘bad air', mal'aria. However, common misconceptions of the cause of this disease were dispelled in 1897 when Dr Ronald Ross, a British officer discovered the link between the mosquito and the malaria parasite. 
Since then malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in much of Europe, the Americas and parts of Asia. However in Africa, home to the most severe and life-threatening form of malaria, increasing drug resistance and crumbling health systems have led to a rise in the number of infections over the last three decades. While good progress has been made in Asia and Latin America, the burden in some of these areas is also still high.
Burden
An estimated 500 million cases of malaria every year cause up to 3 million deaths, of which an estimated 90 percent occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, the majority children under the age of five.
Malaria is a life-threatening and devastating parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. It is one of the leading causes of death and disease worldwide, especially in the developing world. It affects 40 percent of the world's population - putting 3.2 billion people at risk in 107 countries.1 An estimated 500 million cases of malaria every year cause up to 3 million deaths, of which an estimated 90 percent occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, the majority children under the age of five.2
Science
What is malaria and how is it spread?
Transmission is usually through the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito that requires blood to nourish her batches of eggs which, at tropical temperatures, she produces and lays in water about every 3 days. Symptoms of malaria usually appear 9-14 days after an infectious mosquito bite. If not promptly diagnosed and treated, infection by the most deadly type of malaria (Plasmodium falciparum) can lead to life-threatening illness, causing severe anaemia, seizures, mental confusion, coma and death. Those who survive may still suffer from learning impairments or brain damage. The groups most at risk are people with little or no immunity to malaria, such as young children and pregnant women.
Article: courtesy of the European Alliance Against Malaria and Malaria Consortium
Photo: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Diagram: Encarta
1. World Malaria Report 2005, p.11. 2005, Geneva
2. WHO & UNICEF, The Africa Malaria Report 2003, p.17. 2003, Geneva
