Malaria Malaria is a parasitic disease that involves infection of the red blood cells. Of the four types of malaria, the most serious type is falciparum malaria, which can be life-threatening.
Malaria is transmitted to people by mosquitos.
The scientific name of the particular type of mosquito is Anopheles. An infected Anopheles mosquito bites a person and injects the malaria parasites into the blood. The malaria parasites then travel through the bloodstream to the liver and eventually infect the red blood cells. The symptoms characteristic of malaria include fever, chills, muscle aches, and headache. The treatment for malaria depends upon the geographic area where a person has been infected with the disease.