The malaria parasite is small and is only one cell. It is called plasmodium. There are four different kinds of plasmodium that cause malaria. They are called:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Weller PF.
Protozoan infections.
In: Dale DC (editor). Infectious diseases. WebMD, New York, U.S.A.; 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

¹

Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe sort of malaria.

You can get malaria if you are bitten by a mosquito that is infected with any of the plasmodium parasites.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Winstanley P.
Malaria: treatment.
Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London. 1998; 32: 203-207.

 

 

 

 

 

² Some people are more likely than others to be bitten:

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Golenda CF, Solberg VB, Burge R, et al.
Gender-related efficacy difference to an extended duration formulation of topical N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET).
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 1999; 60: 654-657.

 

 

 

 

 

³

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Stauffer WM, Kamat D, Magill AJ.
Traveling with infants and children. Part IV. Insect avoidance and malaria prevention.
Journal of Travel Medicine. 2003; 10: 225-240.

 

 

 

 

 

⁴

Some mosquitoes, especially in Africa, like to bite around your ankles. Most bite in the evening and at night.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Bradley DJ, Warrell DA.
Malaria.
In: Warrell DA, Cox TM, Firth JD, et al (editors). Oxford textbook of medicine. 4th edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK; 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

⁵ But some will bite you during the day if they are very hungry.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Kassianos GC.
Immunization: childhood and travel health.
4th edition. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK; 2001.

 

 

 

 

 

⁶

Malaria can give you symptoms similar to the flu (influenza). The most common symptom is a

 

 

 

 

 

fever
If you have a fever, your body temperature is above 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius). With a fever you often get other symptoms, such as shivering, headache or sweating. A fever is usually caused by an infection.

 

 

 

 

 

fever.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Jong EC, McMullen R.
The travel and tropical medicine manual.
Saunders, Philadelphia, U.S.A.; 2003.

 

 

 

 

 

⁷

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
World Health Organization.
International travel and health.
Available at http://www.who.int/ith/en/index.html (accessed on 17 December 2008).

 

 

 

 

 

⁸ The most severe sort of malaria can cause your organs to stop working and your blood to stop circulating properly. This could kill you. But good treatments are available. People rarely die from malaria in countries like the United States, where good medical treatment is available.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Newman RD, Parise ME, Barber AM, et al.
Malaria-related deaths among US travelers 1963-2001.
Annals of Internal Medicine. 2004; 141: 547-555.

 

 

 

 

 

⁹

Malaria is common in parts of Asia, Africa and South America where the temperature is between 77 degrees and 86 degrees and the weather is humid.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Burkot TR, Graves PM.
Malaria, babesiosis, theileriosis and related diseases.
In: Eldridge BF, Edman JD (editors). Medical entomology. Kluwer. Dordrecht, Germany; 2004: 187-230.

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁰ You don't usually find malaria where the temperature is below 61 degrees or above 97 degrees, or at altitudes higher than 10,000 feet.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Snow RS, Gilles HM.
The epidemiology of malaria.
In: Warrell DA, Gilles HM (editors). Essential malariology. 4th edition. Arnold, London, UK; 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

¹¹ Mosquitoes mostly breed in small pools of fresh water exposed to sunlight.

 

 

 

 

 

Source:
Peters W, Pasvol G.
Tropical medicine and parasitology.
5th edition. Mosby, London, UK; 2002.

 

 

 

 

 

¹²

Your chances of getting malaria depend on where you go, how long you stay there and what you do.

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