Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans. People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness. Four kinds of malaria parasites infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae. In addition, P. knowlesi, a type of malaria…
Malaria also known as the Plasmodium infection, is a parasitic infection—that means it enters the body through a mosquito bite. The mosquito is infected with the virus and transfers it to the person. Although the Plasmodium parasite is the main cause of the infection, environmental and lifestyle factors play contributing roles. Explore the common and less common causes—they may help…
Malaria facts More than 215 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide in 2016. The World Health Organization estimates that 445,000 people died of malaria in 2016; the vast majority are young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Although this is a significant decrease in deaths since 2000 due to increased prevention and control measures, there has been an increase from 2015 to 2016. Health care professionals…
Until recent times, overcoming the malaria burden had been a tall order for many countries across the world. Within the past decade however four of such countries have been certified by the WHO Director-General as having eliminated malaria. These include the United Arab Emirates (2007), Morocco (2010), Turkmenistan (2010), and Armenia (2011). In 2014, 16 countries reported zero cases of…
