Plasmodium vivax
Plasmodium vivax is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring (Benign tertian) malaria, "P. vivax" is one of the five species of malaria parasites that commonly infect humans. Although it is less virulent than "Plasmodium falciparum", the deadliest of the five human malaria parasites, "P. vivax" malaria infections can lead to severe disease and death, often due to splenomegaly (a pathologically enlarged spleen). "P. vivax" is carried by the female "Anopheles" mosquito; the males do not bite.
Mosquito-borne disease
The female mosquito of the genus "Anopheles" carry the malaria parasite. Four different species of protozoa cause malaria "Plasmodium falciparum", "Plasmodium malariae", "Plasmodium" ovale and "Plasmodium" vivax. (see "Plasmodium"). Worldwide, malaria is a leading cause of premature mortality, particularly in children under the age of five, with an estimated 207 million cases and more than half a million deaths in 2012, according to the World Malaria Report 2013 published by WHO. The death toll increased to one million as of 2018 according to the American Mosquito Control Association.