Causes

• The agent which causes the disease is called plasmodium. There are 4 main species of plasmodium's: Ovale, vivax, malarine and falciparum (most deadly)
• A female mosquito needs blood to produce eggs, so if they feed on an malaria infected human and then afterwards pass on the parasite by feeding on other people. This is because when a mosquito bites it injects a small amount of saliva which contains the parasite. A mosquito can bite up to 100 people per night
• Environmental: Mosquitos thrive in the tropics due to warm, wet climate
• Environmental: Stagnant water so mosquitos can lay its larvae (wells, water barrels, lakes, paddy fields or puddles)
• Environmental: Vegetation provide shade for mosquito to digest blood
• Environmental: Altitude below 3000m as anything higher is too cold for mosquitos to survive
• Human: May increase stagnant water - leaving water pots uncovered, creation of modern reservoirs
• Human: Lack of investment in sanitation, healthcare and education on Malaria
• Human: Poorly managed irrigation causing pools of stagnant water
• Human: Vietnam - bomb crates have created thousands of pools of stagnant water, bombs also burst water and sewerage pipes
• Human: Migration has lead to shanty towns in areas of marshland, perfect breeding and feeding ground for mosquitos
• Human: Increase number of paddy fields due to population increase in developing world (increased food demand)
• Human: Clearing forests puts people in contact with the mosquitos
• Human: People at risk are people who work outside with exposed skin at dusk and dawn when mosquitos are more active
• Human: High population density areas where lots of humans act as a blood reservoirs for mosquitos. Mosquitos can feed and reproduce successfully in high density areas (e.g. south east asia)
• Human: Increase of global trade and tourism to troubled areas can lead to the disease moving into new territories