Malaria (another name for malaria), which is World Day on Monday, April 25, caused the death of 627,000 people worldwide in 2020, according to an estimate by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The number of deaths increased by 12% over 12 months mainly due to "disturbances" in access to care, linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

50% of the world's population concerned

Half of the world's population is at risk of contracting malaria.

In 2020, 241 million cases of malaria were recorded worldwide, according to the WHO.

The Eastern Mediterranean, the Pacific zone, the Americas and Southeast Asia are areas at risk.

Especially in Africa

The vast majority of cases (95%) and deaths (96%) occur in Africa: this region "bears a large and disproportionate share of the global burden of malaria", deplores the WHO.

Just over half of the world's recorded cases occur in four African countries: Nigeria (31.9% of cases in 2020), Democratic Republic of the Congo (13.2%), Tanzania (4.1%) and Mozambique (3.8%).

Malaria Marine LEDOUX AFP/Archives

Children under 5 years old

At the same time, "children under the age of five are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria", underlines the Organization.

In 2020, under-fives accounted for 80% of deaths from malaria on the African continent.

Five species of parasites

A very old disease, reported since Antiquity, malaria is manifested by fever, headaches and muscle pain, then by cycles of chills, fever and sweats.

A total of five species of parasites of the genus Plasmodium, all transmitted by mosquito bites, are responsible for this disease.

A child is vaccinated against malaria in Yala, Kenya in October 2021 Brian Ongoro AFP/Archives

Plasmodium falciparum is the most pathogenic species and responsible for fatal cases.

It is present in the tropical zones of Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Preventive and curative treatments

Several types of preventive and curative treatments exist.

Early diagnosis and treatment reduce the intensity of the disease, prevent deaths and limit transmission.

According to the WHO, "the best treatment available, especially for Plasmodium falciparum malaria, is artemisinin-based combination therapy".

Mosquitoes in a petri dish to be observed under a microscope in a malaria research laboratory in Ouagadougou, in August 2019 at the Burkina Olympia DE MAISMONT AFP / Archives

There are also preventive treatments strongly recommended for pregnant women and infants living in risk areas as well as for travelers to these regions.

"Vector control" against the transmitting mosquito is also an important response to the disease, with the use recommended by the WHO of mosquito nets impregnated with insecticides.

- A vaccine recommended by the WHO-

A vaccine, developed by the British pharmaceutical group GSK, the "RTS,S" targets the most threatening species of Plasmodium, P. falciparum.

After favorable trials in Malawi, Ghana and Kenya, the WHO recommended in October 2021 the "wide use" of this vaccine in children living in at-risk areas, primarily in Africa.

Spraying mosquito insecticide to fight malaria in May 2018 near Obuasi, Ghana CRISTINA ALDEHUELA AFP/Archives

The vaccine is "demonstrated to significantly reduce malaria mortality in young children", according to the Organization.

Other vaccines could emerge in the coming years, including one developed by Oxford University, Matrix-M, which in trials has shown very high efficacy.

© 2022 AFP