1. Cheryl Cole contracted malaria on a visit to Tanzania in 2010 and brought the disease to public attention in the west.

2. Malaria is a potentially fatal tropical disease that is transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito.

3. Malaria is caused by a parasitic infection called Plasmodium
Malaria is caused by a parasitic infection called Plasmodium. The parasites enter red blood cells and reproduce (the red arrows in the image indicate Plasmodium infection).
Typical symptoms of malaria include headache, chills, fever and sweating. Sufferers often experience repeated bouts of such symptoms over their lifetime.

4. This map shows where most cases of malarial infection occur
This map shows where most cases of malarial infection occur. The disease used to be endemic in the UK (the ‘ague’) but was eradicated as a consequence of draining the southern marshes. The map shows that the disease mostly affects places with serious poverty problems.

5. Every 45 seconds one child dies from malaria.
About 2,000 people die from malaria every day.

6. Artemisinin, based on a traditional Chinese remedy, is currently the most effective treatment for malaria, but there are signs of growing resistance to it.
Attempts to find better treatments have been hindered by the lack of a good animal model. The malarial parasite does not affect other animals the way it affects humans. However, new genetically altered mice may provide the answer.
The investment in developed countries in research of malaria represents typically less than one-half of one percent (0.3 percent) of the total investment in health research.

7. Before a new vaccine can be used on people it will have to be tested in a non-human primate like this macaque.