Malaria is a fascinating killer. Unlike most bugs, the parasite that sickens and kills many millions of people around the world is actually fairly complex with thousands of genes (the flu virus has eight genes, by comparison, and HIV has nine).
Mental Floss has compiled an entertaining list of 8 Surprising Facts About Malaria, which opens with this 1943 clip from Disney aimed at fighting the ‘winged scourge’ of malaria-infected mosquitoes: