What is Malaria?
{{Infobox disease | Name = Malaria | ICD10 = {{ICD10|B|50||b|50}}-{{ICD10|B|54||b|54}} | ICD9 = {{ICD9|084}} | Image = Anopheles gambiae mosquito feeding 1354.p lores.jpg | Caption = Malaria is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito | DiseasesDB = 7728 | MedlinePlus = 000621 | OMIM = 248310 | eMedicineSubj = med | eMedicineTopic = 1385 | eMedicine_mult = {{eMedicine2|emerg|305}} {{eMedicine2|ped|1357}} | MeshName = Malaria | MeshNumber = C03.752.250.552 }} '''Malaria''' is an [[infectious disease]] caused by a [[parasite]]. It is one of the most common diseases in the world. Every year it infects hundreds of millions of people and kills hundreds of thousands..<ref>{{Cite web|title=World Malaria Report 2011|url=https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241564403|access-date=2025-03-31|website=www.who.int|language=en}}</ref> Malaria is produced by four [[species]] of the [[protozoa]]l parasite '''Plasmodium''', which is [[endemic]] in many [[tropics|tropical]] countries. It is spread by the bite of an infected [[mosquito]]. When the parasite enters a person's blood, it causes an infection that can be deadly. ==Epidemiology== Malaria cases declined until the mid-1970s. In the 1950s there were 75 million cases of malaria; in the 1960s, there were only 0.1 million.{{fact|date=March 2025}} However, it staged a comeback in the mid-1970s, causing 6.47 million cases in 1976.{{fact|date=March 2025}} This increase resulted from several factors - for example, many mosquitoes became resistant to commonly used [[insecticide]]s. According to 2011 estimates from the [[World Health Organization], between 149 million and 274 million people get malaria each year. Of these, around 655,000 people die from the disease. This [[average]]s out to one malaria death every minute. Today, around 90% of people who get malaria live in [[Africa]]. However, malaria is endemic and sub-endemic to many parts of the world. For example, 80% of the [[India]]n