I continue my stay in Kenya in Lodwar, Turkana, a desert area where many roads are like sand dunes and temperature usually reaches 40C each day. I was going to write about how annoying mosquitos are. One morning I awoke with five bites on my right little finger. I bought a bed net next day.
Perhaps only a resident of a mosquito free country like Ireland could have written in defense of such an annoying beast!
But in the wee hours of Tuesday morning my friend suffered from serious chest pains and we attended local A&E. Routine blood tests for infection and a microscope slide for Malaria plasmodia were negative. They prescribed a mild opiate painkiller and amoxicillin antibiotic anyway. Later that day my friend vomited and pain went away.
However, it returned suddenly three days later. This time we attended a small private hospital. Immediately the patient had a nice gurney and was put on painkilling drip from start. The same routine blood tests, but this time positive for malaria (malaria test was RDT and level detected very low). Hydration drips were administered and pain eased and moved to stomach. We suspected aggravation of gastric nerve was cause from diet or other reasons.
But lastly administration of artesunate injection, Argesun, and appointments to return for two more at 12 and 24 hours. And a follow up course of artemether-lumefantrine tablets.
And side effects of artesunate include stomach pain and nausea/vomiting, which were the main symptoms of the illness.
So what changed in the three days? The symptoms were not classical malaria symptoms. But a positive test for plasmodium generates this response.
How real is malaria? It seems to be a disease of any symptom, just so long as there is positive plasmodium test.