Malaria

Malaria is a parasitic disease that is transmitted from human to human by the bite of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. In humans, the parasites (called sporozoites) migrate to the liver where they mature and become merozoites, which enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells.
The parasites multiply within red corpuscles, after 48 to 72 hours, break and infect more red blood cells. The first symptoms usually occur 10 days to 4 weeks after infection, although they may appear as early as 8 days or up to 1 year thereafter. Then, symptoms of the disease occur in cycles of 48 to 72 hours.
Most symptoms are caused by the massive release of merozoites into the bloodstream, the anemia resulting from destruction of red blood cells and the problems caused by large amounts of free hemoglobin released into the circulation after the breakdown of red blood cells .
Malaria can also be transmitted from mother to fetus (whether congenital) and by blood transfusions. The mosquitoes in temperate climates can carry malaria, but the parasite disappears in winter.
The disease is a major health problem in much of tropical and subtropical countries. The CDC (Center for Disease Control in the U.S.) estimates that each year there are 300 to 500 million malaria cases and more than one million people die. It is the major disease hazard for travelers to warm climates.
In some regions of the world, mosquitoes that carry malaria have developed resistance to insecticides. In addition, parasites have developed resistance to some antibiotics. This has led to difficulty in controlling both the rate of infection and spread of the disease.
The Plasmodium falciparum, one of four different types of malaria, affects a larger proportion of red cells compared to other types and is much more serious. It can be fatal after a few hours of onset of first symptoms.