There is no
malaria virus that causes malaria. Instead of a malaria virus, the cause of malaria is an infection with a parasite. A parasite is a microscopic organism that lives within another organism (known as a host), but provides no benefit to the host. The specific parasites that cause malaria come from the genus
Plasmodium, and the parasite hosts include both animals (such as reptiles, birds, and various mammals), and a specific species of
mosquitoes known as
Anopheles. While there are over 100 types of
Plasmodium parasites, only 4 infect humans. These include:
- Plasmodium falciparum
- Plasmodium ovale
- Plasmodium vivax
- Plasmodium malariae.
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