Understanding the parasite, the mosquito, and the symptoms is the first step to stopping the spread.
Malaria (Plasmodium) is a lethal disease caused by a parasite carried by female Anopheles mosquitoes and transmitted to humans through their bites. Four parasite species are responsible for human malaria: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae.
While contracting malaria can be a death sentence, it can be treated with antiparasitic medication, especially when caught early. The problem is scale: hundreds of millions of infections a year, concentrated in regions with the least access to care.
Plasmodium parasites live in the salivary glands of infected mosquitoes, waiting to transfer.
A female Anopheles mosquito bites at night, injecting the parasite into the bloodstream.
Parasites multiply in the liver, then invade red blood cells, triggering fever and illness.
The next mosquito to bite picks up the parasite, and the cycle begins again in someone new.
Anyone is at risk of malaria, but it is especially dangerous to travelers who have no natural immunity, and to children, who account for the majority of malaria deaths worldwide.
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