Malaria is a potentially life-threatening infectious disease caused by parasites of the genus Plasmodium and transmitted primarily through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
After entering the body, malaria parasites undergo part of their life cycle in the liver before infecting red blood cells. The destruction and alteration of infected red blood cells contribute to many of the symptoms and complications of malaria.
Several Plasmodium species cause human malaria, but P. falciparum is particularly important because it can cause severe disease and death if not promptly treated.
QUICK FACT
Malaria is caused by a parasite, not by a bacterium or virus.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WITH
Malaria parasite: Malaria is the disease; the malaria parasite is the organism that causes it.
SEE ALSO
