Malaria

I've just returned from a couple of weeks in Bolgatanga in northern Ghana. Even though the rainy season is over, the hospitals are packed with those ill with malaria. Even though local people have a certain amount of immunity, one Ghanaian nurse told me that most get it several times a year. For the young and the old it can be fatal. Thousands die each year. For those who just get ill, it saps one's energy for several days. Even two of the white people I was with succumbed to it despite being on anti-malaria pills which the local people can't take because of the long-term side-effects.
So, I was very pleased to read a report in today's Independent that suggests a malaria vaccine might be only five years away. This will not only save lives but a huge amount of resources too. And the people will feel a whole lot better, though they couldn't be any friendlier.