What is Malaria?

The history of vaccines writes that, ‘ the name malaria comes from mal’aria, which is Italian for “bad air.” Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite that is spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.

Centers for disease control and prevention, which is the national public health agency of the United States, writes that the Malaria parasite was discovered by Alphonse Laveran, a military doctor in France’s Service de Santé des Armées (Health Service of the Armed Forces) in 1880. As defined by WHO, Malaria is a preventable and curable life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. When an anopheles mosquito bites an infected person, a small amount of blood is taken in which contains microscopic malaria parasites. About 1 week later, when the mosquito takes its next blood meal, these parasites mix with the mosquito’s saliva and are injected into the person being bitten.

There are five species of Plasmodium (single-celled parasites) that can infect humans and cause illness:

• Plasmodium falciparum (or P. falciparum)

• Plasmodium malariae (or P. malariae)

• Plasmodium vivax (or P. vivax)

• Plasmodium ovale (or P. ovale)

• Plasmodium knowlesi (or P. knowlesi)

Plasmodium vivax or P. falciparum are the most common malarial parasites, while P.
malariae and P. ovale are other rarer forms. Of these, infection with P. falciparum is the most fatal if left untreated, possibly leading to kidney and brain complications, and even death.

Malaria is endemic in 87 countries. In 2019, nearly half of the world’s population was at risk of malaria where the estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 409 000, WHO reports.

The disease occurs mostly in poor tropical and subtropical areas of the world. In many of
the countries affected by malaria, it is a leading cause of illness and death. In areas with
high transmission, the most vulnerable groups are young children, who have not developed immunity to malaria yet, and pregnant women, whose immunity has been
decreased by pregnancy. Malaria is preventable and curable.

The costs of malaria – to individuals, families, communities, nations – are enormous. According to Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC), Malaria has been known to impose substantial costs to both individuals and governments. Costs to individuals and their families include purchase of drugs for treating malaria at home; expenses for travel to, and treatment at, dispensaries and clinics; lost days of work; absence from school; expenses for preventive measures; expenses for burial in case of deaths.