Professor Lucille Blumberg – Chairperson of the South African Malaria Elimination Committee and Deputy-Director of Epidemiology & Medical Consultant, Centre for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases

Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by any one of five malaria parasite species i.e Plasmodium falciparum, ovale, vivax, malariae and knowlesi. The disease is transmitted to people by the female Anopheles vector mosquito. This disease is a leading cause of debilitating illness, with over 200 million cases each year from around the world. The disease is widespread in Africa, and over one million people die of malaria every year on the continent, mostly children under the age of five.