Our cover story this week is on Malaria. Malaria, a protozoal disease, is transmitted by Anopheles mosquito caused by minute parasite  of the genus plasmodium.
In the past Malaria used to be a common feature in the marshy areas around the city of Rome and the name is therefore, derived from the Italian (maloaria) or ‘bad air”. Some 3.2 billion people are exposed to Endemic Malaria to day in Africa, India, South East Asia and South America. It is estimated to cause around two million deaths annually, out of which one million are children. In areas where Malaria is common, it can be the leading cause of death and poor growth among young children. Malaria is also particularly dangerous for pregnant women. It causes severe anaemia, miscarriages, stillbirths, low birth weight and maternal death.
The SAARC countries are very favourite hunting and breeding grounds for mosquitoes carrying the parasites that cause the Malaria.
It was in Calcutta (now Kolkata) that Sir Ronald Ross found traces of the malarial parasite in Anopheles mosquito in 1897. He was awarded the noble prize in Medicine in 1902 for his pioneering work on Malaria.
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