QUESTION In which countries can it be found? ANSWER Malaria is found in many parts of Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Oceania. The exact distribution depends on climatic variables (namely heat and sufficient rainfall, for the development of the mosquitoes which transmit malaria) and also how successful a particular country or region has been at controlling malaria. For example, … [Read more...]
Malaria Distribution
QUESTION What countries have malaria? ANSWER Prior to the advent of modern methods for controlling malaria, it was present on every continent in the whole except Antarctica. The transmission of malaria depends on an appropriate climate, both for the development of the parasite and the mosquitoes that it requires as a vector. This limits malaria to areas that are sufficiently warm and with … [Read more...]
Transmission of Malaria
QUESTION Why can the malaria parasite be transmitted from mosquito to human, but not from human to human (via blood)? ANSWER This is a very good question, and actually, malaria can be transmitted via human blood directly to another person, but this occurs relatively rarely! It has to do with the life cycle of the malaria parasite. When a mosquito bites a human host, it injects … [Read more...]
Malaria Transmission
QUESTION Can one get malaria through contact with the infected person or is it airborne? ANSWER Malaria cannot be transmitted through direct contact with an infected person, nor is it airborne! It is actually transmitted directly via the bite of an infected mosquito. Only certain female mosquitoes, of the genus Anopheles, can carry malaria. The mosquito picks up the malaria parasite … [Read more...]
What is a Malaria Parasite?
QUESTION What is a malaria parasite? ANSWER A malaria parasite is a single-celled protozoan of the genus Plasmodium. These parasites have a complex life-cycle, which involves sexual reproduction in a mosquito vector, plus cycles of asexual reproduction and multiplication in a human host (or other animal - other primates, rodents, birds and reptiles can also be infected with … [Read more...]
What is Malaria?
QUESTION what is malaria? ANSWER Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells. Usually, people get malaria by being bitten by an infective female Anopheles mosquito. Only Anopheles mosquitoes can transmit malaria and they must have been … [Read more...]
How is Malaria Spread?
QUESTION How is malaria spread? ANSWER Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells. Usually, people get malaria by being bitten by an infective female Anopheles mosquito. Only Anopheles mosquitoes can transmit malaria and they must have … [Read more...]
Symptoms of Malaria
QUESTION What are the symptoms of malaria? ANSWER 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. Symptoms usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the … [Read more...]
Where does malaria come from?
QUESTION Where does malaria normally come from? ANSWER Malaria is caused by single-celled parasites of the genus Plasmodium; the parasites enter the human body via the bite of an infected mosquito. However, the mosquito has to pick up the infection in the first place from another infected human; so in a sense, you could say that malaria both comes from mosquitoes, as well as from other … [Read more...]
Malaria and Sexual Contact
QUESTION Is a person with malaria allowed sexual contact or not? ANSWER Malaria cannot be transmitted between people through sexual contact (or indeed, between people at all—it must go through a mosquito before it can pass into another human host), so from the point of view of spreading the disease, sexual activity is not disallowed. However, people with malaria often feel very … [Read more...]