Why are children under 5 and pregnant women particularly susceptible to malaria?
Young children take time to build up resistance to malaria. If they get malaria when very young their bodies are often not strong enough to beat it and they may die. However, if a child survives and is bitten repeatedly by infected mosquitoes they gradually build up some resistance to the malaria parasite. The older, stronger child has a much better chance of fighting the disease and not dying.
