And every 30 seconds, a child will be killed by malaria.
Some scientists believe that of every two people who have ever lived, one has died of malaria. Signs of the disease have been found in Egyptian mummies and the skeleton of a child buried in a Roman cemetery. DNA evidence suggests that it may have contributed to the downfall of the Roman Empire. More than 2000 years ago, the Greek historian Herodotus noted that in swampy areas of Egypt, some people would sleep in tall structures that mosquitoes could not reach, or under special material that the insects failed to penetrate. Of the one million people who will die this year following the symptoms of fever, shivering, headaches, vomiting and joint pains, most will be in such places as Liberia and other sub-Saharan African countries.The vast majority are aged under five years old, and from impoverished families. Malaria is the plague of the poor. In many parts of Africa it is not unusual to find families with an income of less than £100 a year spending a quarter of this hard-earned money on malaria treatment. Today, however, the race to find a vaccine has become a holy grail for big drug companies such as GlaxoSmithKline and charities such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates, the world's richest man, seems to be on a personal crusade to rid the world of malaria. "It just blows my mind how little money has been spent on malaria research," he told New Yorker writer Michael Specter in 2005. "What has prevented the rich world from attempting this? I just keep asking myself, Do we really not care because it doesn't affect us?'" At last, though, the world appears to be waking up to the threat posed by malaria, and the possibility of a "miracle" vaccine may be a little closer. Read the rest by following the link here. Don't forget the BBC site on mal;aria mebntioned previously under Development and Health labels. You need to look at all these posts to get this one - I know I'm cruel but it will make you look!
Brilliant for the S5/6 talks coming soon. Get reading!
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