Malaria is a serious disease caused by a parasite. Infected mosquitoes spread it. Malaria is very common throughout the world. In the United States, the main risk is to persons traveling to tropical and subtropical countries where malaria is a problem. There are four different types of malaria caused by four related parasites.

The most deadly type occurs in Africa south of the Sahara Desert. The symptoms characteristic of malaria include fever, chills, muscle aches, and headache. Cycles of chills, fever, and sweating that recur every 1, 2 or 3 days are typical. There can sometimes be vomiting, diarrhoea, coughing and yellowing (jaundice) of the skin and whites of the eyes. The treatment for malaria depends upon the geographic area where a person has been infected with the disease.

Malaria is considered as a symptom of poverty because it mostly affects children and women in Africa. Over a million people die from malaria each year and many of them are the poor children and women in Africa, and millions more of them are seriously weakened by it. Although malaria is treatable with anti-malarial drugs and preventable through immunization and bed net, but these resources are often not accessible in the poorest areas of Africa. The health care systems in most African countries are commercialized such that poor people do not have access to it because they simply cannot afford.

Malaria is transported by the female mosquito. When an infected mosquito bites, she transmits malaria parasites to her victim who falls ill. Malaria has an incubation of 10-21 days but may be longer. In humans, the malarial parasites (called sporozoites) after being released into the bloodstream from a mosquito bite, migrate to the liver where they mature and release another form, the malarial merozoites. Malaria is a leading cause of death and disease worldwide, especially in developing countries. Most death s occur in young children.

Malaria infects about 250 million people annually including 1 million fatalities. Consider for a moment the magnitude of these astronomical numbers. For perspective, the entire population of the United States is about 300 million people. International travelers are at risk of contracting this disease. Malaria lurks in parts of Asia, Africa, Mexico and South America.

To prevent the mosquito from breeding it is necessary to drain the ponds and puddles. Mosquitoes do not breed in water that is flawing. Ditches and drains should be dug deep, with perpendicular sides which should be kept free from grass and weeds. During the rainy season it may not be possible to drain away all the water, but if possible steps should be taken to prevent water from farming in small ponds and puddles. If a pond cannot be drained, then put a large number of small fish in it, or keep ducks. Bath fish and ducks eat the wrigglers and in this way prevent mosquitoes from multiplying.

The migration of people for reasons of agriculture and trade is another factor why malaria infection rate is so high in African countries. The changing rainfall patterns as well as water development projects such as dams and irrigation schemes, which create new mosquito breeding sites, also increase the spread of malaria throughout African continent.

Malaria is a disease which can be transmitted to people of all ages. It is caused by parasites of the species Plasmodium that are spread from person to person through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves infection of the red blood cells. Of the four types of malaria, the most serious type is falciparum malaria, which can be life-threatening. The other three types of malaria (vivax, malariae, and ovale) are generally less serious and are not life-threatening.

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