Malaria

Approximately half of the world's population is at risk of malaria. Most malaria cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. However, Asia, Latin America, and to a lesser extent the Middle East and parts of Europe are also affected. In 2008, malaria was present in 108 countries and territories.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), "in 2008, there were an estimated 243 million cases of malaria worldwide. The majority of cases were in the WHO African Region (85%), followed by the WHO South-East Asia Region (10%) and the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (4%). Malaria accounted for an estimated 863, 000 deaths in 2008, of which 89% were in the WHO African Region, followed by the WHO Eastern Mediterranean (6%) and South-East Asia (5%) regions. The majority (85%) of deaths were in children under five years of age."

Key interventions to control malaria include the use of insecticidal nets by people at risk and indoor residual spraying with insecticide to control the vector mosquitoes.

Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs.