page_title: Tropical medicine
section_title: Malaria
hierarchical_section_title: Tropical medicine / Challenges / Malaria
context_page_description: Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions.
  Physicians in this field diagnose and treat a variety of diseases and ailments. Most infections they deal with are endemic to the tropics. A few of the most well-known include malaria, HIV/AIDS, and tuberculosis. They must be knowledgeable in the 18 lesser known neglected tropical diseases, which include Chagas disease, rabies, and dengue. Poor living conditions in underdeveloped tropical countries have led to a rising number of non-communicable diseases. These diseases include cancer and cardiovascular disease, which, in the past, have been more of a worry in developed countries. Physicians trained in tropical medicine must also be prepared to diagnose and treat these diseases.
  Training for physicians wishing to specialize in tropical medicine varies widely over the different countries. They must study epidemiology, virology, parasitology, and statistics, as well as the training required of an ordinary MD.
context_section_description: Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted by an Anopheles mosquito to a human host. The parasite that causes malaria belongs to the genus Plasmodium. Once infected, malaria can take a wide variety of forms and symptoms. The disease is placed into the uncomplicated category or the severe category. If quickly diagnosed and treated, malaria can be cured. However, some of the more serious symptoms, such as acute kidney failure, severe anemia, and acute respiratory distress syndrome can be fatal if not dealt with swiftly and properly. Certain types of Plasmodium can leave dormant parasites in the liver that can reawaken months or years later, causing additional relapses of the disease. In the World Malaria Report of 2016, the World Health Organization reported a malaria infection rate of 212 million, 90% of which occurred in the African region. However, malaria infection rates had fallen 21% since 2010 at the time of the report. The WHO also reported an estimated mortality rate of 429,000 deaths in the year 2015. The malaria mortality rate had fallen 29% globally since 2010. Children under 5 contract the malaria disease more easily than others, and in the year 2015, an estimated 303,000 children under the age of 5 were killed by malaria. Since the year 2010 however, the mortality rate of children under 5 fell by an estimated 35%.
caption: A map detailing areas where malaria is endemic.
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