MALARIA: Lesson 1

Talatu and Laraba lived in a certain town close to the Hawal River. They had been friends since childhood. They grew up together and also married at the same time. Talatu married someone close to her home village. Laraba married a man from Kano. Both of them had children.

Talatu was a clean housekeeper and also kept her children clean. She took her children to the clinic for check-ups and gave them Daraprim every week to keep them from getting malaria. Her children did not always have malaria as those who did not take Daraprim.

Laraba in Kano did not look after her children as she should have. She said since they lived in a big city, they would not easily have problems with the diseases common to the villages. She did not give them the prophylactic much less keep the children and her compound clean. She did not bother to sweep. Tin cans, broken pots, and empty bottles were lying about. She said she didn't see any point in taking good care of a rented house. These containers held water which provided a breeding place for mosquitos. There were so many mosquitos in their house they had trouble sleeping at night. The children were not well either. They always had fever and headache.

One day Laraba's son came down with fever and died. A week later her daughter also became ill with fever, headache, vomiting and general weakness. She thought that since they were from a different village that the evil spirits were bringing them trouble. She went to the native healer and he gave the child feces of a bird but it did not help. The girl also died.

They were much troubled about the things that had happened. Laraba and her husband also got fever and headache. Talatu heard about the death of Laraba's children so she went to see Laraba and her husband. Upon reaching Mono she was taken to Laraba's house. She had a hard time sleeping there for the mosquitos kept biting her. She had looked around at the clutter of cans, bottles, and broken pots. There was water standing in the place where they bathed in which mosquitos laid their eggs and hatched out.

Talatu told Laraba to collect all the tins, bottles, and broken pots, put them in a hole and bury them. She should also fix the bathing place so that the water would soak away and drain into the ground. This would help keep the mosquito population down. Mosquitos breed in standing water. Mosquitos are what bring malaria. The children need to be taken to the clinic to get preventive medicine which they will take every week.

Laraba did as Talatu suggested. They went to the clinic and got medicine to help them get over their fever and headache and she also began giving the children Daraprim every week. She started sweeping and keeping the compound clean of places where mosquitos breed. From then on they were healthier and happier.

Questions:

1. What happened to Laraba's children?

2. Why were Talatu's children healthy?

3. What did Talatu suggest to Laraba to do?

4. What medicine prevents malaria?