In addition, availability of cures and recent advances in medicine have led to only three diseases being considered neglected diseases, namely, African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease and Leishmaniasis. Children who are poor, have mothers with little to no education, and live in rural areas are more susceptible to malaria and more likely to die from it. Malaria is directly related to the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. It increases viral load seven to ten times, which increases the chances of transmission of HIV through sexual intercourse from a patient with malaria to an uninfected partner. After the first pregnancy, HIV can also decrease the immunity to malaria. This contributes to the increase of the vulnerability to HIV and higher mortality from HIV, especially for women and infants. HIV and malaria interact in a cyclical manner—being infected with malaria increases susceptibility to HIV infection, and HIV infections increase malarial episodes. The co-existence of HIV and malaria infections helps spread both diseases, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria vaccines are an area of intensive research.