malaria: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 6, 2026

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Takamifa malaria okwa ponoka ko • Oct. 31, 2026, 9:51 AM ET (The Namibian)

Photos and Videos

Malaria life cycle

Plasmodium vivax, malaria parasite

Anopheles mosquito: malaria vector

Close-up view of an Anopheles mosquito showing its large, green compound eye, segmented antennae, and fine hairs on its head and body.

World Health Organization

Two side-by-side maps of Africa, southern Europe, and southern Asia. The left map shows regions where malaria is present, shaded in green, covering much of sub-Saharan Africa, parts of the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. The right map displays the frequency of the sickle cell allele (HbS) with varying shades of pink and red, indicating higher frequencies in central and western Africa, and lower frequencies in surrounding regions. The maps highlight the correlation between malaria presenc

The video thumbnail shows a black and white image of a mosquito biting a human arm. The area it is biting is highlighted in pink.

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Topics

vivax malaria quartan malaria falciparum malaria blackwater fever hydroxychloroquine antimalarial drug Anopheles World Malaria Day quinine notifiable disease nutritional disease AIDS diabetes mellitus tuberculosis Ebola plague Alzheimer disease influenza breast cancer congenital disorder

Key People

William Crawford Gorgas.

William Crawford Gorgas

United States Army surgeon

Tu Youyou

Tu Youyou

Chinese scientist and phytochemist

Sir Ronald Ross, bronze relief by Frank Bowcher, 1929; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Sir Ronald Ross

British doctor

Laveran

Alphonse Laveran

French physician and pathologist

Lancisi, miniature by an unknown artist

Giovanni Maria Lancisi

Italian physician

full human skeleton

Diseases, Disorders, and More: A Medical Quiz

44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes

3d illustration human heart. Adult Anatomy Aorta Black Blood Vessel Cardiovascular System Coronary Artery Coronary Sinus Front View Glowing Human Artery Human Heart Human Internal Organ Medical X-ray Myocardium

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