Malaria

Malaria
Classification and external resources
Malaria is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito
ICD-10	B50.-B54.
ICD-9	084
OMIM	248310
DiseasesDB	7728
MedlinePlus	000621
eMedicine	med/1385 emerg/305 ped/1357
MeSH	C03.752.250.552

Malaria is an infectious disease caused by a parasite: it is spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. People catch malaria when the parasite enters the blood. The parasite causes a deadly infection which kills many people each year (from 75 million cases in 1950s to 0.1 million cases in 1960s). However, due to the development of insecticide resistance among mosquitoes and other factors, it staged a comeback in the mid-1970s (6.47 million cases in 1976), and continues to prevail in endemic/subendemic proportions, so that 80% of the Indian population lives in malaria risk areas.

Malaria is produced by 4 species of the protozoal parasite Plasmodium, is endemic in many tropical countries. It is one of the most common health problems. As per latest WHO estimates (2011)* between 149 and 274 (median 216) million clinical cases and ~ 0.655 million deaths occur globally due to malaria each year, 90% of which are in Africa. This amounts to one malaria death every minute. In India, the National Malaria Eradication Programme (NMEP), started in 1958, achieved near complete disappearance of the disease in 1960s (from 75 million cases in 1950s to 0.1 million cases in 1960s).

The parasite that causes malaria is a protozoan called 'Plasmodium'. Protozoa are organisms with only one cell, but they are not bacteria. Bacteria are smaller and simpler than protozoans.

People usually get malaria from the Anopheles or Culex mosquitoes Archived 2019-02-28 at the Wayback Machine: they are the vectors of the disease. The Plasmodium gets into people by the bites of mosquitoes. The Plasmodium is in the mosquito's special saliva.^[1] The mosquito's saliva injects an anticoagulant into the person to prevent their blood from clotting. The person is then infected with Plasmodium as a by-product. This makes the person have the disease we call malaria.

Only the female mosquito gives people malaria, because only the female mosquito consumes blood. The male mosquito lives on the nectar of flowers. The female uses blood as a source of protein for its eggs.

Some people do not get malaria from mosquitoes. A baby can get it while inside its mother. This is called maternal-foetal transmission. People can also get malaria from a blood transfusion. This is when someone gives blood to another person. Another way people can catch malaria is by using a needle that someone with the disease used before them.

1. ↑ Saliva is moisture, or spit, made in the mouth.