Tuesday, August 01, 2006

and the rains fell..and the mosquitoes came and bit

There was heavy thunder and lightning last night, which was good. So far, Damina season has been relatively dry, causing some to wonder whether climate change is affecting this part of the world too. It was lovely to lie in bed and hear the rain beating down noisly on the metal roof, with the occasional flash of light flaring through the curtains. It reminds me of camping on lovely, wet days in some verdant English countryside. Luckily, we didnt flood this time either.

The rainfall of the past few days seems to have given many people malaria. Its odd how quickly malaria can spread after just a few days of rain. It shows how rapidly mosquitoes can thrive if puddles of water form all around.

One of the mysteries of all the talk of solving the problem of malaria in developing countries is that no one seems to look at the underlying cause of the problem - inadequate sanitation/drainage systems. As someone who always sleeps under a bednet/uses spray etc, and yet who regularly gets malaria, its clear that the usual 'solutions' to malaria are just band aid.

16 comments:

the flying monkeys 4:30 pm  

what a shame, Malaria was eradicated in the United States in the 1950s, although i do not miss the mosquitoe bites, I miss the mosquitoes...nevertheless, i still prefer the rainfall down in Niaja to that up here, especially the smell of naija after it rains...

the flying monkeys 4:42 pm  

Malaria was eradicated in the United States in the 1950s http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4927656.stm...what a chronic problem

St Antonym 4:48 pm  

This reminds me of a lovely letter home from young Vidia (when he was at Oxford) to his father in Trini, in 1952:

"I feel nostalgic for home. Do you know what I long for? I long for the nights that fall blackly, suddenly, without warning. I long for a violent shower of rain at night. I long to hear the tinny tattoo of heavy raindrops on a roof, or the drops of rain on the broad leaves of that wonderful plant, the wild tannia. But, in short, I long for home, or perhaps, the homely atmosphere. And I miss my bicycle rides, and the sea, and the pit at Rialto, and the sort of cigarettes I used to smoke, to everyone's scandal."

Terminadelp 5:24 pm  

Clearly malaria is almost non existent in the United states... The ailment is so rare in the States that I remember being quarantined during a hospital visit out here when I relapsed from a malaria episode … the damn vampires masqueraded as nurses must have drawn about 10 vials of blood sample to investigate my symptoms …
I had to make a quick escape from the hospital for a local stash of 4-2-2 chloroquine to suppress the damn thing.

kemi,  7:04 pm  

Personally I have found the four best cures for malaria in descending order are:

a) Carrying the Sickle Cell Trait (thank you God, Thank you Nature)

b) Sleeping on the first floor and not the ground floor (no way in hell am I building a bungalow and

c) Having a proper Air conditioner. Fans won't do it.

d) Having a fully cemented compound that doesn't collect water around the house

I'm practically immune!

p.s. Guess who's got an all-expenses paid trip to Abuja including a stay at the lovely Hilton?

Anonymous,  7:21 pm  

Do you think you deserve that kemi?

kemi,  11:08 pm  

**Yawns**

Do you think you deserve a response "No Name"?

culturalmiscellany 7:37 am  

I got bitten enough by moisquitos during a December visit so goodness knows what they'd do for a 'fix' of my blood now. I'd be sucked dry no doubt.

culturalmiscellany 7:39 am  

As for English camping there is nothing better, rain or no rain.

Aba Boy 9:01 am  

Spot on - mosquitoes will always thrive in places with inadequate sanitation and drainage systems.

Anonymous,  10:01 am  

williams may have been killed by his wife

Anonymous,  2:43 pm  

Not much for the 'English' detectives to uncover then...

RJ 4:02 pm  

HUH??? Didnt they say his wife and kids were in the UK? And didnt they say the killing had a professional touch to it? Are we to believe now that she is a professional assassin during the day and a wife at night? Kinda like Mrs smith? Dude, where do you get your info from?

Anonymous,  4:53 pm  

the woman lives in the us, and only arrived yesterday, i guess to discuss matters regarding the estate...who knows, perhaps she paid some people to finish the job, so it would look like a political thing...

Monef 12:06 am  

naija people sha...everything has to be supernatural or attributed to the wife or family...in which case, I guess we have solved the mystery of JFK's death...

Chxta 9:40 am  

Spot on Monef

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