Australian researchers are currently working on a vaccine against malaria. Malaria is one of the leading causes of illness and death in the world. According to the World Health Organization, between 300 to 500 million people contract malaria every year and up to 2.7 million die from it. Nine out of ten of these deaths occur in Africa. The rest occur in Asia and Latin America.
People suffering from malaria are often anaemic and have enlarged spleens.
They are also susceptible to other infections. During the 1950s the World Health Organization carried out a program to eradicate malaria from some parts of the world. Insecticides, mainly DDT, were used to control mosquito populations. At first this program was successful, and malaria was eradicated from southern Europe, the United States and the former Soviet Union. But it soon became clear that, in hotter and more humid climates where mosquitoes are present all year long, they had become resistant to the insecticides being used.