QUESTION

I was wondering is it possible for a father who contracted malaria in the Korean War to pass it to his unborn child.

ANSWER

No. Malaria can only be transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito, and in rare cases, through infected blood, for example from a blood transfusion or organ transplant. Mothers can transmit malaria to their unborn babies via the placenta or through blood during childbirth (this is called congenital malaria) but there is no way that a father could pass malaria on to his child.