QUESTION

Is malaria caused by only female mosquitoes?

ANSWER

Malaria is only transmitted by female mosquitoes, yes. This is because only female mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles (the genus that transmits malaria in mammals, including humans) feed on blood, and the parasite that causes malaria (called Plasmodium) spends part of its life cycle in the blood. Therefore, when a female mosquito feeds on an infected person, when she sucks up their blood, she also takes up some of the Plasmodium parasites. These parasites mature inside the mosquito, and then, when the mosquito goes to bite another person, she passes some of the mature Plasmodium parasites into that new person’s blood while she feeds. The Plasmodium parasites may then be able to undergo further development in the new host, which may lead to the person experiencing a malaria infection. So, while technically female mosquitoes don’t cause malaria (since the disease is caused by the Plasmodium parasite), female mosquitoes are required to pass it between one person and another.