Malaria remains one of the most serious infectious disease problems in the world, killing up to 2.5 million people a year. It is second only to tuberculosis in its impact on world health. Worldwide, a child dies of malaria every 30 seconds.
Pregnant women are also particularly vulnerable to the disease.
The disease is present in 90 countries and infects one in 10 of the world's population - mainly people living in Africa, India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Colombia and the Solomon Islands. The number of people dying from malaria is higher now than it was 30 years ago and has spread to new countries. Although the mosquito breeds in water, that does not mean that you will be safe in arid regions. Mosquitoes will happily breed in anything that can hold water for a week or so, such as discarded cans, bottles, tires, wheel ruts, water cisterns, drains, etc. Although malaria can be transmitted through blood transfusions, infected needles and from an infected mother to her unborn baby, in the majority of cases, the disease is transmitted to humans by the bite of the anopheles mosquito.