The friend I was visiting in Gabon has gotten malaria multiple times. It does sound distinctly un-fun, but it also sounds like with the newer drugs (and the understanding that it's possible to cure it entirely, without the lifelong relapses previous generations used to have) it's really not THAT big a deal to a normally healthy adult.
Here's what I wonder, though. In Africa, 70% of malaria deaths are to children under the age of 5. When adults get malaria, they tend not to die. Is that because malaria is only dangerous to children, or is it because, if you've survived to adulthood in a place like Zaire, it's because you have some malaria resistance already? In other words, if I were to move to Zaire and get malaria, would my chances of a dying resemble a Zairian adult's (because I have an adult immune system) or a Zairian child's (because my immune system is worthless against malaria)? I suspect the latter.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-07-21 12:12 pm (UTC)Here's what I wonder, though. In Africa, 70% of malaria deaths are to children under the age of 5. When adults get malaria, they tend not to die. Is that because malaria is only dangerous to children, or is it because, if you've survived to adulthood in a place like Zaire, it's because you have some malaria resistance already? In other words, if I were to move to Zaire and get malaria, would my chances of a dying resemble a Zairian adult's (because I have an adult immune system) or a Zairian child's (because my immune system is worthless against malaria)? I suspect the latter.