World Malaria Day
Each year on April 25, CDC joins the global community in recognizing World Malaria Day. We do this because malaria remains a leading cause of preventable illness and death around the world. Malaria was eliminated from the United States 70 years ago yet still infects 2,000 Americans each year.
Malaria kills more than 600,000 people around the world in 2021, mostly young children. However, with proven tools and methods such as insecticide-treated bed nets, better case management of malaria in children and pregnant women, expanded preventive medicine during high malaria transmission season, and insecticide resistance monitoring, these numbers should come way down.
Malaria is a serious and sometimes fatal disease caused by a parasite that commonly infects a certain type of mosquito which feeds on humans.
People who get malaria are typically very sick with high fevers, shaking chills, and flu-like illness. Although malaria can be a deadly disease, illness and death from malaria can usually be prevented.
