Malaria is a mosquito-borne, hemolytic, febrile illness that affects over 200 million people and
kills more than half a million people per year1. Malaria is caused by four species of the
protozoan parasite Plasmodium: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae. All
Plasmodium spp. infect and destroy human erythrocytes and lead to chills and fever episodes,
anemia and splenomegaly. P. falciparum causes more severe disease than the other
Plasmodium species and accounts for most malaria deaths. P. falciparum and P. vivax are the
most common pathogens, however, there is considerable geographic variation in species
distribution2.