Unraveling Malaria’s Ancient Mysteries: DNA Reveals 5,500-Year-Old Infections

Research into malaria’s history through ancient DNA reveals its profound impact on human evolution and its global spread due to colonialism, military activity, and travel, highlighting challenges in controlling its resurgence.

Malaria, one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, is caused by several species of single-celled parasites that are transmitted through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. Despite massive control and eradication efforts, nearly half of the world’s population lives in areas where malaria is transmitted, and the World Health Organization estimates that malaria causes nearly 250 million infections and more than 600,000 deaths each year.

In addition to its modern impact, malaria has significantly influenced human evolutionary history. “Although largely a tropical disease today, only a century ago the pathogen’s range covered half the world’s land surface, including parts of the northern USA, southern Canada, Scandinavia, and Siberia,” says lead author Megan Michel, a doctoral researcher at the Max Planck-Harvard Research Center Archaeoscience of the Ancient Mediterranean.