I’m often asked this because malaria is not so prevalent in the United States. I became interested in malaria in 2000 after attending a lecture by Robert Desowitz at Emory University and learning about the pressing need for a malaria vaccine, this after reading an article on the malaria burden by Jeffrey Sachs. Malaria struck a chord in me since it primarily affected tropical countries, and I am only one generation removed from the villages of Vietnam. The complexity of the parasite’s life cycle combined with its geographic distribution prompted me to choose a laboratory rotation in malaria research the following summer.

A little about malaria…

Malaria is caused by four principle parasites of the genus Plasmodium: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, and P. ovale. There have also been documented cases of P. knowlesi infections in humans. The latest figures put malaria mortality at over one million cases per annum, the overwhelming majority due to P. falciparum infections among infants and pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria morbidity is estimated at half a billion people per year in regions that include not only Africa, but also parts of the Carribean, Central and South America, parts of the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. Approximately 40% of the world’s population are at risk for malaria infection in over 100 countries.

Malaria is transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito, of which there a several species specific to local endemic regions. The picture is of Anopheles gambiae, the principle vector of malaria in Africa (photo courtesy Anthony Cornel).

If you’re interested in learning more about malaria, please click on the links to the left. The CDC and WHO have very thorough websites on malaria.