CDC Malaria Program

CDC Malaria Program

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Malaria is spread by the bite of an infective female Anopheles mosquito. The disease can cause fever, chills, and flu-like illness. If it is not treated, it can cause severe complications and death.

Malaria remains a preventable cause of serious illness and death worldwide, including in the United States

• 3.2 billion people – almost half the world’s population – are at risk
• 229 million people became ill from malaria in 2019 across 87 countries
• 409,000 people died from malaria in 2019
• $12 billion lost per year in economic productivity in Africa alone

Malaria is still a threat to American travelers, military personnel, and citizens living and working abroad. Typically, about 2,000 malaria cases are diagnosed each year in the United States.

DEMONSTRATED SUCCESS

• With the massive scale-up of malaria prevention and treatment interventions
• Globally, almost 7.6 million lives were saved since 2000
• Malaria deaths in Africa were reduced by 44% between 2000 and 2019

CDC’s EFFORTS

• Providing scientific leadership and technical assistance to guide countries and partners
• Improving data quality and accessibility for use in decisionmaking
• Scaling up interventions through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI)
• Conducting innovative research to improve diagnostics, antimalarial drugs, vaccines, and tools to control mosquitoes
• Preventing, treating, and tracking malaria in the United States

SPOTLIGHT ON KEY CDC ACTIVITIES

• Serves as a World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center for Prevention and Control of Malaria and participates on advisory and technical working groups to inform and improve global programs
• Tracks reported malaria cases to prevent re-introduction to the United States, provides guidance to travelers, and advises physicians on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment
• Co-implements PMI with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and advises on surveillance, monitoring and evaluation, and research
• Assesses pilot implementation of a new malaria vaccine (RTS,S) in western Kenya
• Operates a state-of-the-art insectary to help understand mosquito behavior and how to control the spread of malaria, and tracks distribution of insecticide resistance
• Supports development of diagnostic tools, builds capacity of states and countries to diagnose malaria, and evaluates malaria rapid diagnostic tests from various manufacturers for compliance with standards, preferred practices for labeling, and instructions for use
• Provides technical leadership to help eliminate malaria in Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Malaria Zero, to create a malaria-free zone across the Caribbean

WHAT’S NEEDED

• Enhanced efforts to prevent malaria in travelers and ensuring timely diagnosis and treatment of all cases of malaria in the United States
• Continued scale-up in countries hardest hit by malaria, with insecticide-treated nets, indoor spraying, effective diagnostics and treatment, and prevention in pregnant women
• Improved surveillance systems to monitor progress and targeting interventions to where they are most needed and evaluate impact
• Monitoring and mitigating of threats from insecticide and drug resistance
• Evaluation of new vaccines, diagnostic case management, and vector control tools
• Targeted strategies to reduce and interrupt transmission to achieve elimination

FOR MORE INFORMATION
To learn more about CDC’s work to prevent, control, and eliminate parasitic diseases, visit www.cdc.gov/malaria