MALARIA: Lesson 2

There was a certain woman and her son who were always sick. She sold cans and bottles. Everywhere around her compound were cans and bottles with some water in them. Many mosquitos were breeding in this standing water.

She was surprised that her son was always getting fever. One day the boy had a terrible headache and a high fever with hard chills. Madam Pokta went and bought Caffenol for the boy but it did not bring the fever down. So she took him to the native healer who finally took a knife and cut the boy's chest and put a horn to the place and drew out blood.

After some days the boy died. Pokta talked endlessly how she had given the boy Caffenol . . . but it had not helped. She couldn't understand why the boy had had so much malaria. She thought perhaps the boy was not meant to live.

Madam Pokta was bothered for a long time by what had happened. One day she heard about a health worker close to her village so she went to see him. She told him the news of the death of her son. The health worker told Madam Pokta he wanted to come and see the house where she lived. When they got to the house they saw mosquitos coming up out of everywhere because it was late afternoon. The health worker saw cans and bottles lying around with water standing in them. Also , there were eggs of mosquitos in the water.

He called Madam Pokta and showed her that these tins and empty bottles with a bit of water in them, were breeding places for mosquitos and that was the reason she had so many mosquitos in her house. He told her that mosquitos biting her son had caused him to get malaria and die. For when the mosquito bites/ it puts within the body a poison which causes fever. He told her she should bring the children to the clinic so they can receive Daraprim They became healthier and all were happier.

Questions:

1. What do you get from this story?

2. Why did Pokta have so many mosquitos in her house?

3. What caused her son to always be sick with fever?

4. What caused the chills?

5. Who helped Pokta to discover the reason her son died?

6. What will help prevent children from getting malaria?