How Humans Made Malaria So Deadly
Thanks to http://www.givewell.org/ for sponsoring this video! To learn more about the Against Malaria Foundation, visit: http://www.givewell.org/AMF or https://www.againstmalaria.com. Thanks...
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While newer health threats grab most of the headlines, malaria – the mosquito-borne, cell-rupturing blood parasite – remains among the world's deadliest infectious diseases. But before we go blaming that on malaria, it’s worth noting that we humans made this parasite the killer it is today. That’s not to say we somehow invented malaria. It evolved WAY before we did, in sub-Saharan Africa, likely from an aquatic algae that somehow began hitching mosquito rides into lots of animals and feasting on their liver and blood cells; eventually, about half a million years ago, it landed in humans. But the earliest forms of human malaria weren’t actually that deadly. In fact, because human populations were so scattered and small, any mega-deadly varietie...
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While newer health threats grab most of the headlines, malaria – the mosquito-borne, cell-rupturing blood parasite – remains among the world's deadliest infectious diseases. But before we go blaming that on malaria, it’s worth noting that we humans made this parasite the killer it is today. That’s not to say we somehow invented malaria. It evolved WAY before we did, in sub-Saharan Africa, likely from an aquatic algae that somehow began hitching mosquito rides into lots of animals and feasting on their liver and blood cells; eventually, about half a million years ago, it landed in humans. But the earliest forms of human malaria weren’t actually that deadly. In fact, because human populations were so scattered and small, any mega-deadly varietie...
