Abstract

PIP: Worldwide, malaria is the most prevalent infectious disease affecting humans. Malaria parasites presently infect more than 500 million people annually, killing up to 2 million and causing at least 100 million cases of acute illness. At the macroepidemiologic level, malaria is therefore an established, endemic public health plague for about one-third of the world's population. At the microepidemiologic level, malaria is a highly dynamic infection and disease. Although some countries have effectively managed the threat of malaria, there has been a dramatic, worldwide increase in malaria-related morbidity and mortality over the past 2 decades. In many parts of the globe, malaria is both a major threat to public health and a major obstacle to development given its ability to create high public health costs, lost productivity, and impaired individual growth. Plasmodium falciparum infections, regional differences and changes in malaria epidemiology, drug resistance, changing malaria control strategies, and implementing malaria control in Africa are discussed.