Know Before You Go

If you are heading off on safari this Easter to gaze at the Big Five, don’t forget to protect yourself against Africa’s smallest and most lethal animal: the mosquito.

- Cate Odera

When a friend recently returned from a trip to western Kenya with a headache, she paid it no mind. It was probably a case of dehydration, she thought. Fatigue from her six-hour journey.

But one night, she developed a fever and a splitting headache. When morning came, she could barely open her eyes. Over-the-counter pain and fever relievers offered no respite.

So she checked herself into hospital, clutching onto anything she could find to get herself to the nurses’ station. She felt as weak as a kitten and struggled to breathe normally.

The nurses immediately came to her aid. After several tests, the culprit was identified. My friend had a severe case of malaria. Had she waited any longer, she may have died. She remained in hospital for another four days before she was discharged. 

She was lucky. 

Every year, tens of thousands of people contract malaria in Kenya. Most, with timely medical intervention, survive. But hundreds die.

In Kenya, transmission patterns are influenced by rainfall, vector species, intensity of biting, and altitude. There is a high transmission of the disease (an average of one infective bite per person per week throughout the year) in areas such as the Coast and Nyanza, as well as the western provinces. But malaria also occurs in areas such as Machakos, Embu, Kitui in the east, and Marigat and Ngurumani in the Rift Valley area. However, cases there are not as endemic as in the Coastal and highland zones.