Editing Plasmodium falciparum (section)

==Distribution and epidemiology==
[[File:Relative incidence of Plasmodium (malaria) species by country of origin for imported cases to non-endemic countries.png|thumb|Relative incidence of Plasmodium species by country of origin for imported cases to non-endemic countries, showing ''P. falciparum'' (red) predominating in areas including Africa and the Caribbean.<ref name="Tatem2017">{{cite journal |last1=Tatem |first1=Andrew J |last2=Jia |first2=Peng |last3=Ordanovich |first3=Dariya |last4=Falkner |first4=Michael |last5=Huang |first5=Zhuojie |last6=Howes |first6=Rosalind |last7=Hay |first7=Simon I |last8=Gething |first8=Peter W |last9=Smith |first9=David L |title=The geography of imported malaria to non-endemic countries: a meta-analysis of nationally reported statistics |journal=The Lancet Infectious Diseases |date=January 2017 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=98–107 |doi=10.1016/S1473-3099(16)30326-7 | pmid=27777030 | pmc=5392593 | bibcode=2017LanID..17...98T}}</ref>]]
[[File:Modelling-the-global-constraints-of-temperature-on-transmission-of-Plasmodium-falciparum-and-P.-1756-3305-4-92-S3.ogv|thumb|The Z(T) normalized index of temperature suitability for ''P. falciparum'' displayed by week across an average year.]]
''P. falciparum'' is endemic in 84 countries,<ref name="who2022">{{cite book |last1=WHO |url=https://www.who.int/teams/global-malaria-programme/reports/world-malaria-report-2024 |title=World Malaria Report 2024 |date=2024 |publisher=World Health Organization |isbn=978-92-4-010444-0 |location=Switzerland}}</ref> and is found in all continents except Europe. Historically, it was present in most European countries, but improved health conditions led to the disappearance in the early 20th century.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Majori|first=Giancarlo|date=2012|title=Short History of Malaria and Its Eradication in Italy With Short Notes on the Fight Against the Infection in the Mediterranean Basin|journal=Mediterranean Journal of Hematology and Infectious Diseases|volume=4|issue=1|pages=e2012016|doi=10.4084/MJHID.2012.016|issn=2035-3006|pmc=3340992|pmid=22550561}}</ref> The only European country where it used to be historically prevalent, and from where we got the name malaria, Italy had been declared malaria-eradicated country. In 1947, the Italian government launched the National Malaria Eradication Program, and following, an anti-mosquito campaign was implemented using DDT.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kitron|first1=U.|last2=Spielman|first2=A.|date=1989|title=Suppression of transmission of malaria through source reduction: antianopheline measures applied in Israel, the United States, and Italy|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2665000/|journal=Reviews of Infectious Diseases|volume=11|issue=3|pages=391–406|doi=10.1093/clinids/11.3.391|issn=0162-0886|pmid=2665000}}</ref> The WHO declared Italy free of malaria in 1970.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Martini|first1=Mariano|last2=Angheben|first2=Andrea|last3=Riccardi|first3=Niccolò|last4=Orsini|first4=Davide|date=2021|title=Fifty years after the eradication of Malaria in Italy. The long pathway toward this great goal and the current health risks of imported malaria|journal=Pathogens and Global Health|volume=115|issue=4|pages=215–223|doi=10.1080/20477724.2021.1894394|issn=2047-7732|pmc=8168761|pmid=33734023}}</ref>

There were an estimated 263 million cases of malaria worldwide in 2023, resulting in an estimated 597,000 deaths.<ref name="who2022" /> The infection is most prevalent in Africa, where 95% of malaria deaths occur.<ref name="who2022" /> Children under five years of age are most affected, and 67% of malaria deaths occurred in this age group. 80% of the infection is found in Sub-Saharan Africa, 7% in South-East Asia, and 2% in the Eastern Mediterranean. Nigeria has the highest incidence, with 27% of the total global cases. Outside Africa, India has the highest incidence, with 4.5% of the global burden. Europe is regarded as a malaria-free region. Historically, the parasite and its disease had been most well-known in Europe. But medical programmes since the early 20th century, such as insecticide spraying, drug therapy, and environmental engineering, resulted in complete eradication in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Piperaki|first1=E.T.|last2=Daikos|first2=G.L.|title=Malaria in Europe: emerging threat or minor nuisance?|journal=Clinical Microbiology and Infection|date=2016|volume=22|issue=6|pages=487–493|doi=10.1016/j.cmi.2016.04.023|pmid=27172807|doi-access=free}}</ref> It is estimated that approximately 2.4 billion people are at constant risk of infection.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bousema|first1=T.|last2=Drakeley|first2=C.|title=Epidemiology and Infectivity of ''Plasmodium falciparum'' and ''Plasmodium vivax'' Gametocytes in Relation to Malaria Control and Elimination|journal=Clinical Microbiology Reviews|date=2011|volume=24|issue=2|pages=377–410|doi=10.1128/CMR.00051-10|pmid=21482730|pmc=3122489}}</ref>