What is Malaria?

 

Malaria 

Malaria is a potentially fatal disease caused by a parasite that infects a specific type of mosquito that feeds on humans. Malaria typically causes severe illness, including high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like symptoms. Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale, and Plasmodium malariae are the four types of malaria parasites that infect humans. Furthermore, P. knowlesi, a type of malaria that naturally infects macaques in Southeast Asia, infects humans as well, resulting in malaria that is transmitted from animal to human ("zoonotic" malaria). P. falciparum malaria is the most likely to cause severe infections and, if not treated promptly, may result in death.

Each year, approximately 2,000 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States. The vast majority of cases in the United States are in travelers and immigrants returning from malaria-endemic areas of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Globally, the World Health Organization estimates that 241 million clinical cases of malaria will occur in 2020, with 627,000 people dying from the disease, the majority of whom will be children in Africa. Malaria is a significant drain on many national economies because it causes so much illness and death. Because many malaria-endemic countries are already impoverished, the disease perpetuates a vicious cycle of disease and poverty.

Transmission

Malaria is typically transmitted through the bite of an infective female Anopheles mosquito. Only Anopheles mosquitos can transmit malaria, and they must have been infected by a previous blood meal from an infected person. When a mosquito bites a person who is infected, a small amount of blood is taken in, which contains microscopic malaria parasites. When the mosquito takes its next blood meal about a week later, these parasites mix with the mosquito's saliva and are injected into the person being bitten.

Because the malaria parasite is found in an infected person's red blood cells, malaria can also be transmitted through blood transfusion, organ transplant, or the shared use of blood-contaminated needles or syringes. 

Malaria can also be passed from a mother to her unborn child before or during delivery (this is known as "congenital" malaria).

Is malaria a communicable disease?

No. Malaria is not transmitted from person to person like a cold or the flu, and it cannot be transmitted sexually. Malaria cannot be contracted through casual contact with malaria-infected people, such as sitting next to someone who has the disease.

Who is most at risk of becoming critically ill and dying as a result of malaria?

Plasmodium falciparum malaria is the most common cause of severe and life-threatening malaria; this parasite is found in many African countries south of the Sahara desert. People who have had a high level of exposure to the bites of P. falciparum-infected mosquitos are most likely to die from malaria. People with little or no immunity to malaria, such as young children and pregnant women, as well as travelers from malaria-free areas, are more likely to become very ill and die. Poor people living in rural areas with limited access to health care are more vulnerable to this disease.

Symptoms

Malaria symptoms include fever and flu-like illness, as well as shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are also possible side effects. Malaria can cause anemia and jaundice (yellow skin and eyes) due to the loss of red blood cells. If not treated promptly, the infection can progress to a severe state, resulting in kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and death.