Malaria eradication revisited

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that has shaped human populations and their economies since antiquity. It is caused by single-celled parasites belonging to the genus Plasmodium, of which P. falciparum is the most pathogenic. Following a latent period of replication within the liver, Plasmodium parasites are released into the bloodstream where they invade erythrocytes, causing acute haemolysis and varying degrees of microvascular obstruction and organ dysfunction. In the absence of pre-existing immunity, early diagnosis and treatment of malaria are required to prevent severe morbidity or death