Background The impact of malaria on the health and economic development of human populations is greatest in the tropics and subtropics. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated 216 million episodes of malaria in 2010, of which 174 million (81%) were in Africa. There were a total of 655,000 malaria deaths worldwide, approximately 86% of which in children under 5 years of age (WHO 2011). Although the majority of deaths occur among children in sub-Saharan Africa, malaria accounts for considerable morbidity in the Americas, particularly in the Amazon Basin.