AfricaNews - Health Malaria is by far the world's most important tropical parasitic disease, and kills more people than any other communicable disease except tuberculosis. In many developing countries, and in Africa especially, malaria exacts an enormous toll in lives, in medical costs, and in days of labour lost. The causative agents in humans are four species of single-celled parasites. Of these, P.falciparum accounts for the majority of infections and is the most lethal.
Malaria is a curable disease if promptly diagnosed and adequately treated.
The geographical area affected by malaria has shrunk considerably over the past 50 years, but control is becoming more difficult and gains are being eroded. Other causes of its spread include global climatic change, disintegration of health services, armed conflicts and mass movements of refugees. The emergence of multi-drug resistant strains of parasite is also exacerbating the situation. Via the explosion of easy international travel, imported cases of malaria are now more frequently registered in developed countries. Malaria is now re-emerging in areas where it was previously under control or eradicated e.g., in the Central Asian Republics of Tajikistan and Azerbaijan, and in Korea.