“When I contracted malaria, an infectious tropical disease caused by parasites found in the female anopheles mosquitoes, I probably had the virus in my system for about 3 weeks before I realized I was sick. I just felt extreme fatigue, headaches, a complete loss of appetite, and fever. It just felt like the flu.

I realized I had contracted the disease, when the infection was already quite advanced in my blood and I suffered from a sudden attack in the middle of the night. I awoke to what felt like lightning going through my legs, and then spreading through my body and in my head. Probably the worst headache, body aches, and chills you could possibly imagine. It felt like I was being stung repeatedly by an electric shock gun and could barely control my movements. The pain was so intense; I actually believed I was dying, literally crying out in pain so bad that I was taken to a 24 hour clinic that night at 3am.”

— Coumba Makalou, What it feels like to have Malaria (2007)