“That is the tell tale sign of the female Anopheline mosquito," he went on to say, "and according to the last survey, 20 percent of the mosquitoes in this area carry malaria due to the proximity to all these villages”

A fine representation of a Zimbabwean hippo

Well that was just great information since none of us were taking malaria prophylaxis and had at least 100 bites between us. On top of that, Steve’s fully stocked medical kit never arrived in Africa. We ended up taking a full treatment course of antibiotics when we got home.

The hippo hunting was vastly successful with two huge bulls being taken and we were able to witness the absolute chaos that ensued over the meat by the villagers. It was amazing seeing 150 villagers swinging axes and knives into the carcass with total disregard for themselves and those around them just to obtain any part of the hippo. In a scant 20 minutes, all that remained was a blood spot.

Malaria is still frightfully common. There are 200-300 million cases per year of which two to three million are fatal. We realize that these numbers sound abstract and may be difficult to relate to, but they are certainly real. Every PH will tell you they have had malaria many times.

The dreaded disease is transmitted by the Anopheline mosquito. When this critter draws its blood meal from you, it leaves behind a parasite called Plasmodium. There are four varieties of this parasite: Falciparum, Vivax, Ovale and Malariae. While all are nasty, some are clearly nastier than others.

The parasite has a remarkably complex life cycle. Basically the Plasmodium parasite enters your red blood cells after the mosquito infects you. It then greatly multiplies in your red blood cells until these cells literally break open and release numerous new parasites that repeat this cycle. Other organs can be infected and there can be dormancy.

After the photos were taken, chaos ensued with the local villagers as they "butchered" the kill for table meat.

The first symptoms resembling a virus illness appear after 5 to 15 days depending on which type of malaria you have contracted. These symptoms consist of headache, fatigue, muscle aches and mild abdominal discomfort. Classic malarial symptoms of pain, high fever and chills begin to occur every 48 to 72 hours depending on which type of malaria you have. These rigors and paroxysms are the result of the parasite exploding your red blood cells and surging into your blood stream until they settle in uninfected red blood cells and repeat the cycle. Without treatment, severe complications can occur because of small blood vessel damage that results in destruction of lung, brain and kidney tissue. Ultimately this can lead to death especially with the Plasmodium falciparum.

Plasmodium falciparum is the most virulent of this parasite family with highest complications because of its high rate of reproduction. Plasmodium vivax and ovale are less dangerous with malariae bringing up the rear simply because its rate of reproduction is the slowest of the four types. With these bad boys, less dangerous is still quite dangerous. The ovale and vivax varieties can leave dormant parasites in your liver which can take up to 6 to 12 months for them to reactivate and cause relapsing malaria. That means you can get the symptoms of malaria up to one year after your trip when you thought all was safe. Isn’t prevention sounding better all the time?