Malaria is probably the most important parasitic disease affecting man. The parasite belongs to the class Sporozoa and the genus Plasmodium, a name which means multinucleated mass.

There are scores of named species of Plasmodium which infect various species of vertebrates. Four species are considered true parasites of humans, as they utilize humans almost exclusively as a natural intermediate host: P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale and P. malariae.

On today's podcast, I talk to author, Rosemary Drisdelle about some of the basics of malaria and jump into the most common species, Plasmodium vivax.