Excerpt:
Human malaria is a disease of tropical and subtropical areas of the world that is transmitted solely by mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles. The causal agent is a parasitic protozoan in the genus Plasmodium that destroys red blood cells during its asexual reproductive processes. Complications during the course of infection may include anemia, general malaise, liver disfunction and brain damage. Previously infected humans function as the only reservoirs of infection; thus, human carriers serve as the sole source for the +300 million infections that are reported each year.