QUESTIONS: What is malaria? What causes malaria? ANSWER: I have copied below the text from an earlier question, also asking about the causes of malaria and explaining what it is: Malaria is a disease caused by a parasitic single-celled animal known as Plasmodium. There are different species of Plasmodium, which cause different kinds of malaria. The main types which infect humans … [Read more...]
How long has malaria existed?
QUESTION: How long has malaria been going on? ANSWER: The answer to your question depends on the kind of malaria as well as how exactly you define 'malaria'. The parasites which cause all forms of malaria, in humans as well as other mammals and birds, belong to a group called Plasmodium; scientists believe, based on genetic information, that this genus evolved around 130 million years … [Read more...]
How Many Types of Human Malaria?
QUESTION: How many types of malaria infect humans? ANSWER: There are four main types of malaria which infect humans: Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. P. ovale additionally can be split into two sympatric sub-species, P. o. curtisi and P. o. wallikeri. Each of these five kinds has a subtly different life cycle which results in slight variations in symptoms and … [Read more...]