What is malaria?

Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite after being bitten by an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Patients with malaria typically are very sick with high fever, shaking chills, and flu-like illness. Four kinds of malaria parasites can infect man: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae.

Infection with any of the malaria species can make a person feel very ill; infection with P. falciparum, if not promptly treated, may be fatal. Although malaria can be a fatal disease, illness and death from malaria are largely preventable.

Is malaria a common disease?

The World Health Organization estimates that each year 300-500 million cases of malaria occur and that more than 1 million people die of malaria. About 1,200 cases of malaria are diagnosed in the United States each year. The vast majority of cases in the United States are in travelers and immigrants returning from malaria-risk areas, many from sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Malaria is a leading cause of death and disease worldwide, especially in developing countries. Most deaths occur in young children. For example, in Africa, a child dies from malaria every 30 seconds.

Where does malaria occur?

Malaria typically is found in warmer regions of the world -- in tropical and subtropical countries. Higher temperatures allow the Anopheles mosquito to thrive. Malaria parasites, which grow and develop inside the mosquito, need warmth to complete their growth before they are mature enough to be transmitted to humans.

Malaria occurs in over 100 countries and territories. More than 40% of the world’s population is at risk. Large areas of Central and South America, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania are considered malaria-risk areas.

Yet malaria does not occur in all warm climates. For example, economic development and public health efforts have eliminated malaria from the southern United States, southern Europe, Taiwan, Singapore, and all of the Caribbean islands (except Hispaniola). Some Pacific islands have no malaria because Anopheles mosquitoes are not found there.  

What are the signs and symptoms of malaria?

Symptoms of malaria include fever and flu-like illness, including shaking chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may also occur. Malaria may cause anemia and jaundice (yellow coloring of the skin and eyes) because of the loss of red blood cells. Infection with one type of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, if not promptly treated, may cause kidney failure, seizures, mental confusion, coma, and death.

How soon will a person feel sick after being bitten by an infected mosquito?

For most people, symptoms begin 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, although a person may feel ill as early as 7 days or up to 1 year later. Two kinds of malaria, P. vivax and P. ovale, can relapse. In P. vivax and P. ovale infections, some parasites can remain dormant in the liver for several months up to about 4 years after a person is bitten by an infected mosquito. When these parasites come out of hibernation and begin invading red blood cells (“relapse”), the person will become sick.

How do I know if I have malaria?

Most people, at the beginning of the disease, have fever, sweating, chills, headache, malaise, muscle ache, nausea and vomiting. Malaria can very rapidly become a severe and life-threatening disease. The surest way for you and your health-care provider to know whether you have malaria is to order a diagnostic test where a drop of your blood is examined under the microscope for the presence of malaria parasites. If you are sick and there is any suspicion of malaria (for example, if you have recently traveled in a malaria-risk area) the test should be performed without delay.

When should malaria be treated?

The disease should be treated early in its course, before it becomes severe and poses a risk to the patient's life. Several good antimalarial drugs are available, and should be administered early on. The most important step is to think of malaria, so that the disease is diagnosed and treated in time.

What is the treatment of malaria?

Malaria can be cured with drugs. The type of drug and duration of treatment depend on the type of malaria diagnosed, where the patient was infected, the age of the patient, and how severely ill the patient is at beging of treatment.

Can children also take malaria pills?

Children of any age can get malaria and any child traveling to a malaria-risk area should be on an antimalarial drug. Doses is according to  the child’s weight.