Malaria is an infectious disease caused by two protozoan parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. Over the last few decades, malaria has steadily increased. Today, it kills more than 1 million people every year. Most fatalaties are children under age five.

This unacceptable rise in malaria mortality is due in part to the fact that Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest malaria parasite, has acquired resistance to nearly all available antimalarial drugs — the only exception being the artemisinin derivatives. Artemisinin-containing combination therapies, such as Coartem from Novartis, are the only effective treatments against drug-resistant malaria.

What is malaria?

One of the world’s most dangerous diseases, malaria infects between 300 million to 650 million people each year. Plasmodium falciparum, the most serious form of the disease, kills more than 1 million people per year worldwide. Illness and death from malaria are largely preventable.

Malaria symptoms often include fever, chills and flu-like illness. Symptoms appear 10-to-15 days after a person is infected. If not treated promptly, malaria can cause severe illness and is often fatal.

How does malaria spread?

Malaria is caused by parasites of the species Plasmodium that are spread from person to person through the bites of infected mosquitoes. The disease may be transmitted to people of all ages. Malaria transmission differs in intensity and regularity depending on local factors such as rainfall patterns, proximity of mosquito-breeding sites and mosquito species. Some regions have a constant number of cases throughout the year, whereas other areas have malaria seasons, which usually coincide with the rainy season.

Are there cures for malaria?

If detected early and treated properly, malaria may be cured. Since 2005, LINK the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that malaria be treated with the potent antimalarial drug artemisinin as part of combination therapy. Coartem is a highly effective artemisinin-based fixed-dose combination that cures up to 95 percent of cases, even in areas of multi-drug resistance. Coartem is the only antimalarial prequalified by WHO, and is the only malaria therapy added to WHO’s Essential Medicines List. Since 2001, Novartis has provided more than 160 million treatments without profit to those most in need. To accelerate access to its state-of-the-art antimalarial treatment, Novartis reduced the average price of Coartem for the public market by 20 percent on World Malaria Day (April 25, 2008).

Who are the most affected by Malaria?

The people most at risk for developing the severest form of the disease are:

Women who lose their acquired immunity to malaria during pregnancy;

People who lack any immunity to the disease, such as refugees and migrant workers moving from areas where there is little malaria.

Malaria is Africa's leading cause of mortality for children under five. An estimated 10 000 pregnant women and 200 000 infants die annually as a result of malaria infection during pregnancy. Neurological damage can result in non-fatal cases.