Malaria prevention

What is malaria prevention treatment?

When an infected mosquito bites you, it can pass a parasite onto you. There are five parasites that can cause malaria, but most cases are caused by just two: Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. ^[1]

The vast majority of malaria cases occur in Africa. Only 6% of cases occur in countries on other continents. ^[1] After a bite from an infected mosquito, the Plasmodium parasites use your bloodstream to go into your liver. Once there, they grow and mature until they’re ready to reproduce. Then they return to your bloodstream where they infect your red blood cells and multiply. Every two or three days the infected blood cells burst, releasing more parasites into your bloodstream to repeat the cycle. ^[2]

Most people with malaria get better if they’re diagnosed and treated early. Malaria can be fatal without treatment, and approximately 86% of people worldwide who die from malaria are younger than five years old. ^[3]

There are treatments that prevent malaria when taken prophylactically (pre-emptively). People who travel to places where malaria is endemic often take these drugs. When taken as directed by your clinician, malaria prevention treatments should keep you from getting malaria even if you get bitten by an infected mosquito.

Who needs malaria prevention?

Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria in over 100 countries across the world. ^[1] Anyone who travels to an area with active malaria transmission should consider using preventive treatment. These areas often include countries in Africa, parts of the Middle East, and Central and South America.

Preventing malaria is easier than treating it. If you’re planning to travel internationally, you can use the Travel Health Pro and the CDC Malaria Database

to see if there’s malaria transmission where you’re going, and make sure you speak to a clinician to get a prescription for antimalarial treatment before you go.

How common is malaria?

Despite increasing efforts to limit the spread of malaria, it still remains a common infection.

About 263 million people were infected with malaria in 2023, and 597,000 of them died. Some areas have much higher rates of transmission than others. Malaria infections in African countries account for 94% of cases worldwide and 95% of deaths. ^[1]

What causes malaria?

Malaria is caused by being bitten by an Anopheles mosquito that has been infected with Plasmodium parasites. Once you’ve been bitten, the parasite travels to your liver to mature and release merozoites, which are a different form of the parasite.

These merozoites enter your bloodstream, where they infect and destroy red blood cells. ^[1] As malaria progresses, the symptoms can become more severe.

What are the symptoms of malaria?

Shortly after infection, there aren’t that many symptoms of malaria. In fact, it can lie dormant for weeks or months. In some very rare cases, it can be years before you start noticing any strong symptoms. ^[2] When someone becomes symptomatic, they can experience:

• • Muscle aches
  • Joint pain
  • Fatigue
  • Chills
  • Diarrhea
  • Stomach pain
  • Coughing
  • Headache
  • Nausea

• Vomiting
• Increased heart rate
• Rapid breathing

The earliest someone might experience symptoms is around 7 days after a mosquito bit them. ^[3]

Can malaria lead to other problems?

Untreated malaria can be fatal, or at least lead to serious complications. Without treatment, you could develop: pulmonary edema, cerebral malaria, kidney failure, bleeding or severe anemia. ^[4]