QUESTION: What is the portal of entry for malaria? ANSWER: Malaria enters its human hosts via the bite of mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. The malaria parasites are present in the mosquitoes saliva, and enter into the human bloodstream when the mosquito bites to take a blood meal. Once in the human body, the malaria parasite then undergoes a number of different life stages, … [Read more...]
What does malaria cause?
QUESTION: What does malaria cause? ANSWER: Malaria is a disease. It is caused by tiny single-celled parasites called Plasmodium, which are transmitted through the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. There are many symptoms that occur as a result of infection with malaria, namely fever, chills, headaches and nausea, among others. Malaria can be a very serious disease, especially if not … [Read more...]
Do male anopheles mosquitoes bite?
QUESTION: Do male anopheles mosquitoes bite? ANSWER: No. Only the females require blood meals, and so only they transmit malaria. Males usually feed on nectar. … [Read more...]
Which doctor first linked Anopheles to cases of malaria?
QUESTION: Which doctor first found that Anopheles mosquitoes transmitted malaria? ANSWER: The first person to show conclusively that malaria could be transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes was Ronald Ross (later knighted in 1911 for his services to medicine). Working in the Presidency General Hospital in Calcutta (Sir Ronald was born in India and joined the Indian Medical Services in 1881 … [Read more...]
Researchers Discover Microbe That Could Help Fight Malaria
Researchers have discovered a bacterium in the gut of the Anopheles mosquito which may someday be used to destroy and, therefore, prevent the spread of the disease-causing parasite. The World Health Organization estimates 800,000 people die of malaria each year. The parasite that causes the disease is transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. After the mosquito feeds on the blood of an … [Read more...]
How does malaria spread?
QUESTION: How does malaria spread? ANSWER: Malaria is a vector-borne disease; this means that it has to be spread through a "vector" species, which in this case are female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles. The female mosquito needs to feed on blood in order to produce eggs; most species lay eggs every 2-3 days, which means each female mosquito needs to take very regular blood … [Read more...]
Malaria Countries and Map
Geographic Distribution of Malaria Around the World Where malaria is found depends mainly on climatic factors such as temperature, humidity, and rainfalls. Malaria is transmitted in tropical and subtropical areas, where: Anopheles mosquitoes can survive and multiply Malaria parasites can complete their growth cycle in the mosquitoes ("extrinsic incubation period"). Temperature is … [Read more...]