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Scientific name: Plasmodium falciparum

Genus: Plasmodium

Species: Plasmodium falciparum (most common)

Can cause mild to fatal symptoms, induce fatigue, fever, and chills.

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In Algeria, French military doctor Alphonse Laveran discovered that parasites inside red blood cells were responsible for causing malaria. Initially, it was believed that the disease was caused by “bad air” from stagnant water, a theory known as miasma. However, Laveran’s observations revealed the presence of Plasmodium parasites in blood samples from infected individuals. Later research showed that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes, which are ectoparasites, organisms that feed on the outside of a host. Some forms of malaria, such as those caused by Plasmodium knowlesi, are classified as zoonotic diseases, meaning they are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

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A microscopic image of Plasmodium in red blood cells

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Malaria is most common in tropical and subtropical regions, especially in:

South Asia (e.g., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh)

Sub-Saharan Africa (highest number of cases and deaths)

Southeast Asia (e.g., Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand)

Central and South America

Oceania (e.g., Papua New Guinea)

Some areas of the Middle East

Timeline of the Spread

Ancient: Evidence of malaria dates back to 2700 BCE in China, this marks the beginning of the Shang Dynasty which brought a lot of people together.

Classical Period: Described by Hippocrates in Greece around 400 BCE, described in On Airs, Waters, and Places.

15th–19th Century: Plasmodium falciparum spread to the Americas through European colonization and the transatlantic slave trade.

20th Century: Identification of the Plasmodium parasite by Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran in 1880, and mosquito transmission; global malaria control efforts begin.

21st Century: Continued high burden in Africa, but progress made in prevention and control in many regions.

Number of People Affected

247 million malaria cases reported globally in 2022 (data received by WHO)

619,000 deaths worldwide in 2022

Most deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly among children under 5, this disparaging mortality is due to low immunity in children.

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Virulence: how harmful or deadly a disease can be.

Malaria can be mild, or deadly, especially the type caused by Plasmodium falciparum. It can lead to:

High fever

Severe illness

Organ failure

Death (especially in young children and pregnant women)

It kills over 600,000 people each year, mostly in Africa. So, malaria is very virulent.

Malarias virulence has changed over time:

1. The parasite has changed – Some types of malaria are more dangerous than others. The more deadly type has become more common in some places.

2. Drug resistance – The parasite has become harder to kill with medicine, which makes the disease worse in some cases.

3. People's immunity – In places where malaria is common, people may get used to it, so it’s less deadly. But in new areas, it can be more harmful.

4. Better treatment – Medicine, mosquito nets, and sprays have helped reduce deaths, making malaria seem less harmful in some places.

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In response to malaria, the health care community implemented a range of strategies including early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Once the mosquito vector was identified, efforts shifted toward controlling mosquito populations and protecting people from bites using insecticide-treated bed nets and indoor spraying. Medical advances such as the development of antimalarial drugs, including chloroquine and later artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), played a vital role in treating the disease. New technologies have also been applied, including rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), which allow for quick and accurate detection of malaria in remote settings. More recently, genetic modification of mosquitoes and the release of sterile males have been explored to interrupt the transmission cycle. In 2021, the World Health Organization approved the first malaria vaccine, RTS,S/AS01 (Mosquirix), marking a significant milestone in malaria prevention.

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In response to malaria, leadership and governmental bodies in many countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, coordinated national malaria control programs with the support of international organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund. These efforts included distributing insecticide-treated bed nets, conducting indoor residual spraying campaigns, and ensuring access to antimalarial medications. Governments also worked to improve health infrastructure and train community health workers to diagnose and treat malaria locally. Innovative initiatives were introduced to enhance these efforts. For example, governments partnered with global health organizations to implement mobile health technologies that track outbreaks and map malaria risk areas. Drones have been used to identify mosquito breeding sites, and satellite data has supported environmental monitoring. Mass drug administration in high-risk areas was also piloted in some regions to reduce the parasite reservoir in the population. The introduction of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in 2021, initially rolled out in pilot programs in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi, represented a groundbreaking public health innovation. Despite these achievements, leadership could have done more in some areas. Inconsistent funding, political instability, and limited health system capacities slowed progress in certain regions. Earlier investment in vaccine development and broader deployment of proven interventions could have saved more lives. Strengthening cross-border relations and improving public health education campaigns would also have enhanced the response to malaria.

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Societal and Sociological Impact of Malaria

Beyond its physical toll, malaria had a significant psychological and social impact. In regions where the disease was common, especially in parts of Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, people lived with constant fear that a simple mosquito bite could lead to serious illness, disability, or death. The fear of the disease disrupted daily life and created an expectancy for the unexpected, essentially leaving everyone that was vulnerable to the disease scared when it would come again, especially in rural areas with limited medical access.

Changes in Societal Behavior

Once the link between mosquitoes and malaria was established, public and personal behavior began to shift. Communities increasingly embraced prevention methods like mosquito netting, insecticides, and drainage of standing water. Public health campaigns promoted education, and there was a growing willingness to adopt preventative strategies, both at the individual and governmental levels. This is mostly true of well established communities.

Colonized vs. Colonizer Settings

The societal impact of malaria was often shaped by colonial power structures. In many colonized regions, malaria disproportionately affected local populations, who often had limited access to treatment or preventive measures. Colonizing powers frequently focused on protecting their own officials, soldiers, and settlers, such as building screened homes, draining swamps near colonial outposts, and distributing quinine selectively. Indigenous communities were often left out of these efforts, reinforcing health inequalities.

However, the presence of malaria also shaped colonial behavior. In some cases, it discouraged deeper colonization of certain territories due to the high risk of illness among European personnel. This contributed to the nickname “the white man’s grave” for parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Over time, the need to manage malaria pushed colonizers to invest in public health infrastructure, which sometimes had unintended benefits for local populations, though often still filtered through colonial priorities.

Lessons Learned

Malaria helped societies understand the importance of control of vector spread diseases, the value of scientific research in public health, and the need for collective action. But it also exposed the deep inequities in how disease burdens local communities in places such as Sub-Saharan Africa, still these are lessons that remain relevant in modern global health.