Is Malaria Contagious?

Transmission of Malaria from Person to Person

Malaria is considered infectious but is not transmitted from person to person. Generally, a disease like this is caused by an infectious agent and not spread between people.
Malaria, although infectious, is not a genetic disease. It is not caused by a defective or abnormal gene.

Transmission of Malaria from Animals

The transmission of Malaria can be by way of:

• blood feeding insects and can include ticks and mosquitoes.
• insects.
• mosquitoes.

Contagion summary:

Spread by mosquito bites; rarely by other blood methods (transfusions, sharing needles); also mother-infant transplacental transmission

Contagiousness properties for Malaria:

  Contagious from blood?: Yes

  Contagious from blood transfusion?: Yes

  Contagious from intravenous needle usage?: Yes

  Contagious from needlestick injury?: Yes

  Contagious from mother to infant?: Yes

  Contagious mother to baby during childbirth?: Yes

  Contagious from insect bite (or exposure)?: Yes

  Contagious from mosquito bite?: Yes

About contagion and contagiousness:

Contagion and contagiousness refers to how easily the spread of Malaria is possible from one person to another. Other words for contagion include "infection", "infectiousness", "transmission" or "transmissability". Contagiousness has nothing to do with genetics or inheriting diseases from parents. For an overview of contagion, see Introduction to Contagion.

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