This question, “who is afraid of malaria?” may not have crossed the minds of most of you out there before now. Not many folks are afraid of this (deadly) disease caused by a tiny but killer insect called anopheles mosquito. This may be because the insects bearing the disease are commonised: we sleep and wake up with them, and they inject the murderous parasites we cannot see with our eyes into our system. They force themselves on us when we are at work or even relaxing. They strafe our ears, emitting tunes that can be irritating, which oftentimes leads to self-slapping.
Most people are afraid of HIV/AIDS because it has no known cure. But malaria, which is preventable and has known cures, kills faster than the incurable disease. What is more, even WHO or World Health Organisation is afraid of malaria! So fearful of malaria is WHO that it declared April 25 every year as World Malaria Day since 2007.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease of humans. And it is prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions. According to statistics released by WHO, over three billion people in 106 countries are at risk of being knocked down by malaria with more than a million killed annually. This is probably because in many parts of the world where the disease is prevalent, mosquitoes distributing the lethal parasites have developed resistance to most of the drugs and insecticides available in the markets, making it extremely difficult to combat the disease and the spread of infection.
A few years ago, a renowned malarialogist, Prof. Akintunde Sowumi of the University of Ibadan, perhaps out of frustration, advocated that to eliminate the disease, every Nigerian must endeavour to kill at least one mosquito a day. He described the bug as mankind’s number one enemy that kills more quickly than HIV/AIDS.
Malaria attack is not new to me. I have fought several battles with the disease and conquered it with all manner of therapies. But none was as life-threatening as the one I fought towards the mid- night of July 29, 2016. While growing up, quinine was the most powerful drug used to treat the ailment. Then, chloroquine combined with B-Complex came to the rescue apparently because the parasites had developed resistance to quinine. As the battle raged on with chloroquine emerging victorious, the parasites went back to the drawing board, upgraded and subsequently overpowered the therapy as it did to its first cousin – quinine.
Then, new medications like the oral Artemisinin-based Control Therapy (ACT) as a replacement for the mono therapies like the (lone ranger) chloroquine were unleashed on the parasites. Also as part of the renewed effort to put the scourge on the back foot, the insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) were mass produced and distributed to serve as refuge from the ruthless insects. There are also all kinds of insecticides, including “ota piapia”, that boast of immense strength to kill off the insects. However, the danger here is that some of the insecticides are harmful to humans if wrongly handled.
On that fateful night, I had returned to Abuja from a very stressful journey to the village. I had been under stress before the trip, having treated malaria two weeks earlier and ejected a stubborn tooth a couple of days earlier.
A long while after taking my dinner, I made an attempt to ease myself on the sofa. And that was when the disease crept in on me. I took an involuntary dive and lost consciousness. A drama ensued as the entire household panicked. The disease intended that meal to be my last supper but God was on my side. My alter ego was sent for… as the alarm on “daddy on the floor” reverberated across the house. My wife reached for anointing oil and fired some prayers. I revived and my next door neighbour named Mustapha was sent for. They supported me into his car and I was rushed to the family hospital which was adjacent to the estate where I live. On the way to the hospital, I chatted with my friend and thanked him for being a good neighbour.
I alighted from the car and walked into the hospital with some support from my wife and friend. The nurse on duty swiftly went to work, taking my vital signs while awaiting the arrival of the doctor on call. Then the disease struck again with a devastating effect: I passed out. I was still unconscious when the doctor arrived, wearing his T-shirt inside out in an apparent rush to the hospital.
To shorten a long but frightening story, I came around again and was eased to the ward where a long drawn out malaria treatment commenced based on the prognosis of the recent attack of the disease. It was the first hospitalisation in my life and everyone was scared. I spent three days in the hospital and I cannot remember the quantum of drips that was pumped into my system.
While at home recuperating, I reflected on my scary experience. I remembered a prominent Jos-based Igbo businessman who was killed by malaria several years ago. His passage shook the Tin City to its foundation and we wondered how common malaria could send such a rich man to his early grave. Malaria can kill anybody; it is no respecter of persons.
Later in the hospital, Mustapha narrated the nasty encounter one of his friends had with the disease not quite long ago. Eventually, the victim had to be flown to India when the disease began to tamper with his brain.
I returned to the hospital last Monday for a confirmatory test only for the result to show that the double-digit (++) parasites were still in my system. I was shocked. This is a proof that malaria parasites have, indeed, upgraded. I, too, have decided to step up by embracing an alternative therapy that does not require taking any medications. And I pray it works!
Phew! I hope my readers will learn one or two things from my latest (epic) encounter with the disease and treat malaria as a very ruthless enemy. With malaria, there is no half measure: it is kill or be killed. So, they are strongly advised to go the extra mile to prevent the disease or treat it whenever it strikes… especially those of them with mosquito-friendly genotype (AA) like me.
