Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Not Yet There
08 January 2015

Not Yet There

Five hundred thousand African children die of malaria each year, a number equivalent to the population of UK city, Liverpool. The infection, which is spread by mosquitos carrying the malaria parasite – one kind of the parasite is seen here in purple bursting through a mosquito’s gut wall – particularly threatens children and pregnant women. Whether a victim survives the disease can depend on which of the five parasite species infects them. Brain-targeting Plasmodium falciparum is the deadliest but rarest species, and P. vivax the commonest – Abraham Lincoln being one famous sufferer. This variation has prompted researchers to stress the importance of triaging patients early into different at-risk categories so that targeted treatment can be given. Such public health programmes, coupled to sanitation measures like draining stagnant water where mosquitos breed, and distributing mosquito nets, have halved the number of deaths from malaria between 2001 and 2013.

Written by Tristan Farrow

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.