Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Malaria transmission cycle Open pop-up dialog box Close.
Malaria transmission cycle Malaria spreads when a mosquito becomes infected with the disease after biting an infected person, and the infected mosquito then bites a noninfected person.
Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references AskMayoExpert. Mayo Clinic; Jameson JL, et al. In: Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York, N.
Accessed Oct. Bennett JE, et al. Malaria plasmodium species. Elsevier; Accessed Dec. Merck Manual Professional Version. Brunette GW, et al. Oxford University Press; Most cases of malaria develop in people who travel to countries where malaria is more common. Read more: Learn about the relationship between cytopenia and malaria ».
Malaria can occur if a mosquito infected with the Plasmodium parasite bites you. There are four kinds of malaria parasites that can infect humans: Plasmodium vivax , P. An infected mother can also pass the disease to her baby at birth. This is known as congenital malaria. The symptoms of malaria typically develop within 10 days to 4 weeks following the infection. In some cases, symptoms may not develop for several months. Some malarial parasites can enter the body but will be dormant for long periods of time.
Your doctor will be able to diagnose malaria. During your appointment, your doctor will review your health history, including any recent travel to tropical climates. A physical exam will also be performed. Your doctor will be able to determine if you have an enlarged spleen or liver. If you have symptoms of malaria, your doctor may order additional blood tests to confirm your diagnosis.
Treatment for the disease is typically provided in a hospital. Your doctor will prescribe medications based on the type of parasite that you have. In some instances, the medication prescribed may not clear the infection because of parasite resistance to drugs. If this occurs, your doctor may need to use more than one medication or change medications altogether to treat your condition.
Additionally, certain types of malaria parasites, such as P. People with malaria who receive treatment typically have a good long-term outlook. If complications arise as a result of malaria, the outlook may not be as good.
Cerebral malaria, which causes swelling of the blood vessels of the brain, can result in brain damage. The long-term outlook for patients with drug-resistant parasites may also be poor. In these patients, malaria may recur. This may cause other complications. It depends on what areas of that country you visited, how long ago you were there, and whether you ever had malaria.
In general, most travelers to an area with malaria are deferred from donating blood for 1 year after their return. People who used to live in countries where malaria transmission occurs cannot donate blood for 3 years. People diagnosed with malaria cannot donate blood for 3 years after treatment, during which time they must have remained free of symptoms of malaria.
Blood banks follow strict guidelines for accepting or deferring donors who have been in malaria-endemic areas. They do this to avoid collecting blood for transfusions from an infected donor. In the United States during the period , there were 97 cases reported to CDC where people acquired malaria through a transfusion. Because of these control measures, transfusion-transmitted malaria is very rare in the United States and occurs at a rate of less than 1 per million units of blood transfused.
The disease should be treated early in its course, before it becomes serious and life-threatening. Several good antimalarial drugs are available, and should be taken early on. The most important step is to go see a doctor if you are sick and are presently in, or have recently been in, an area with malaria, so that the disease is diagnosed and treated right away.
Malaria can be cured with prescription drugs. The type of drugs and length of treatment depend on the type of malaria, where the person was infected, their age, whether they are pregnant, and how sick they are at the start of treatment. Very rarely. Travelers who are taking effective malaria preventive drugs but who will be traveling for an extended period of time or who will be at higher risk of developing a malaria infection may decide, in consultation with their health-care provider, to take along malaria treatment medication referred to as a reliable supply in case they develop malaria while traveling.
If the traveler develops symptoms of malaria, they should immediately seek medical attention so that they can be examined and diagnosed appropriately. If they are diagnosed with malaria, they will then already have with them a reliable supply of an effective malaria treatment medicine to take. Malaria self-treatment should begin right away if fever, chills, or other influenza-like illness symptoms occur and if professional medical care is not available within 24 hours.
Self-treatment of a possible malarial infection is only a temporary measure and immediate medical care is important. No, not necessarily. Malaria can be treated. If the right drugs are used, people who have malaria can be cured and all the malaria parasites can be cleared from their body. However, the disease can continue if it is not treated or if it is treated with the wrong drug. Some drugs are not effective because the parasite is resistant to them.
Some people with malaria may be treated with the right drug, but at the wrong dose or for too short a period of time. Two types species of parasites, Plasmodium vivax and P. People diagnosed with P.
Another type of malaria, P. However, in general, if you are correctly treated for malaria, the parasites are eliminated and you are no longer infected with malaria.
Malaria typically is found in warmer regions of the world — in tropical and subtropical countries. Higher temperatures allow the Anopheles mosquito to thrive. Malaria parasites, which grow and develop inside the mosquito, need warmth to complete their growth before they are mature enough to be transmitted to humans.
Malaria occurs in more than countries and territories. Yet malaria does not occur in all warm climates.
For example, malaria has been eliminated in some countries with warm climates, while a few other countries have no malaria because Anopheles mosquitoes are not found there. In Africa south of the Sahara, the principal malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae , transmits malaria very efficiently. The type of malaria parasite most often found, Plasmodium falciparum , causes severe, potentially fatal disease.
Lack of resources and political instability can prevent the building of solid malaria control programs. In addition, malaria parasites are increasingly resistant to antimalarial drugs, presenting one more barrier to malaria control on that continent. What constitutes a rural area can vary by country. In general, urbanization can be said to involve both population size and economic development of an area in which there is concentrated commercial activity, such as manufacturing, the sale of goods and services, and transportation.
Rural areas tend to have less commercial activity, less population density, more green space, and agriculture may be a main feature. Eradication means that no more malaria exists in the world. Malaria has been eliminated from many developed countries with temperate climates. However, the disease remains a major health problem in many developing countries, in tropical and subtropical parts of the world.
An eradication campaign was started in the s, but it failed globally because of problems including the resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides used to kill them, the resistance of malaria parasites to drugs used to treat them, and administrative issues. In addition, the eradication campaign never involved most of Africa, where malaria is the most common.
Agency for International Development, , and the World Health Organization, as well as in 21 malaria-endemic countries. Their work spans the spectrum of policy development, program guidance and support, scientific research, and monitoring and evaluation of progress toward RBM and PMI goals.
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