The cover of July's National Geographic in 2007 was all about malaria. Today  (April 25th) .is Malaria Day as declared by the World Health Organization. Over half a billion people contract the disease each year;. a plague especially hard on countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which suffers 90% of the worldwide mortality rate. At times one out of three chidren below the age of 5 have malaria. Awareness is rising. The Gates Foundation funds agressive anti-malaria campaigns and our own president has recently pledged 1.2 billion for research toward finding a cure.

Like most western travelers, I take all the medical precautions to avoid contracting this adaptable and complex mircrobiotic parasite when overseas. I'm fortunate. I can afford to. In most places the medicine is prohibitively expensive, bed nets impregnated with insecticide the best defense. The trick is to getting people to use them, as even their cost is a stretch for families in improverished nations.

By 1950 malaria was essentially wiped out in the U.S. by an interesting method: draining wetlands and applying the insecticide DDT.  The chemical is being used again, specifically for malaria control, and even front line environmental groups are going along. Rachel Carson's spirit is undoubtly pissed.

So, my question to the Matador community: What are your experiences with malaria? Has anyone out there gotten it? Seems contracting the disease in Africa is a rite of passage for the demographic with the money and means for treatment. Not the case for the majority suffering, losing family or becoming neurologically damaged by the mosquito born pest. The second anniversary of a day established to increase awareness of  a" disease without borders"  is not intended to depress, as appropriate hope sustains coming scientific breakthroughs.