In Rome 1500 years ago, a mysterious plague swept through the city. Of the hundreds of children killed, one was buried in a cemetery on the outskirts of the city. In 2001, her body was exhumed and autopsied using modern genetic techniques. The tests showed she had died of malaria - the earliest confirmed case of a disease that has been with us since time immemorial.

Humanity's greatest scourge : malaria is a distant problem for most of us. We shouldn't ignore it.