LAUSR

INTRODUCTION AND EPIDEMIOLOGY Malaria is an acute febrile infection caused by 5 species of Plasmodium (P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae, and P. knowlesi). A life-threatening illness, malaria is regarded as the most important human parasitic disease. Over 40% of the world’s population lives in tropical areas of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America where malaria is transmitted. Globally, 214 million new cases of malaria were estimated in 2015 with 438 000 deaths, with Latin America accounting for about 10% of total malaria cases. About 90% of malaria cases in the Americas occur in the Amazon basin shared by Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela, whereas the other 10% occur outside Amazon regions, mainly along the coastal areas and lowland Andean valleys, as well as in some North and Central American countries, from Mexico to Panama (Figure 1). Brazil is responsible for 60% of the cases and for half of the deaths due to malaria in the region. Since 2000, substantial decreases in malaria incidence have been observed in the World Health Organization (WHO) Region of the Americas,