Malaria Map

Malaria is a disease that is currently found in over 100 malaria hotspot countries across the world, most commonly across Asia, Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa and as a result over half of the world's population is at risk of catching the disease at present. The unfortunate figures are that currently over one million people a year die from the malaria disease with many millions more suffering from it. The malaria infection map on this page shows the geographical location of the countries where malaria is currently found.

How does the environment affect malaria?

What the same malaria map also shows you is where the malaria parasite is likely to be found within the next 40 years. Currently the malaria plasmodium parasites only find the malaria hotspot countries habitable and thus the malaria infection is only found in other countries if it is taken there after the infection has taken place in the malaria hotspot.

However the fact is that with climate conditions changing now as they will also do in the future, due to increased concentrations of the carbon dioxide gas within our planet's atmosphere, conditions such as where parasites are able to live and breed also change. The main malaria agent, the plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite, will be able to spread to new areas of the world, and yes this does include areas of western society such as North America and Europe. This is also displayed in the malaria infection map on this page which is the result of a study (Hugo Ahlenius, UNEP/GRID-Arendal) as to how malaria may have spread by the year 2050.

Effects of malaria on the US population

Currently malaria is not a huge threat tot he us population, as the malaria infection map shows it is not currently found in North America. The only occurrences of Malaria in the US are people that have travelled to a malaria area and have been unlucky enough to catch the disease and bring it home. These cases are identified and treated and the threat stops there.

As far as blood donation goes, the organisations who take blood donations carefully question all potential donors to see if they have could have come into contact with the malaria disease in the past and are very stringent as to the blood that they take so as not to put the recipients of the donated blood at risk, This is so much so that there is still a huge deficit in the amount of blood that is donated and the amount that is required across North America in way of treatment via blood transfusions. Regretfully these organisations have to turn any potential threat away.

As the malaria map shows the future could change as far as effects of malaria on the US population goes. Climate change may see the malaria disease being able to live and breed in temperate parts of the US, up and along the West coast and all across the southern states as well as some regions of the North West.

Of course this is not guaranteed and studies do no present a crystal ball opportunity but it is worth bearing in mind that climate change is a genuine issue and the possibility that malaria can spread not only to regions of Northern America but also other parts of western civilization such as Europe and Australia in years to come is a very real possibility.

It is important that western civilization is educated on a disease that can kill, it is one thing when it is the other side of the world but when it has the potential to be on your doorstep in your life time and more importantly your children's life time then it is time to sit up and take notice.