How super-virulent strains of malaria arise is not fully understood, but officials acknowledge that indiscriminate use of medicines is a contributing factor. The disease is caused by four types of plasmodium, a single-cell parasite transmitted via mosquitoes. These then travel to the liver, where they multiply and turn into a different kind of spore call merozoite. What happens next is not unlike a scene from Alien. In the bloodstream, the parasites penetrate the red corpuscles, reproduce rapidly and eventually burst out, killing the blood cells.
Malaria is curable if caught early.
The first symptoms are headaches and pain in the joints, followed by alternating periods of high fevers and chills. And because the parasite gobbles up hemoglobin in red blood cells, victims become severely anemic. Over time, the recurrent fevers damage the kidneys, liver and brain, causing coma. Eventually, the patient dies. Treatment at the frontier provinces, however, is all the more difficult because of the sufferers' uncertain status.