Anyone going on the Jewell teams to Honduras or Kenya, remember to begin taking your malaria pill soon. I am going to take my first one today.

If you've never gone on a trip like this, here's some information about malaria & prevention. This comes from the World Health Organization:

"Malaria is caused by a parasite called Plasmodium, which is transmitted via the bites of infected mosquitoes. In the human body, the parasites multiply in the liver, and then infect red blood cells.

Symptoms of malaria include fever, headache, and vomiting, and usually appear between 10 and 15 days after the mosquito bite. If not treated, malaria can quickly become life-threatening by disrupting the blood supply to vital organs. In many parts of the world, the parasites have developed resistance to a number of malaria medicines."

There are different forms of malaria prevention. The pill I will be taking is one of them. This particular pill you take once a week for a few weeks before you go, then during your trip, and then a few more weeks after you return.

The other forms of malaria prevention are the same kinds of things we do around here to avoid mosquitoes. Only, in this case the stakes are potentially a little higher, I could end up with more than just a few nights of miserable itching! So, I'll be poisoning myself, oh I mean, the bugs, with lots of DEET and covering my skin with loose clothing.

(As a side note, let's compare symptoms: malaria symptoms may include fever, chills, sweats, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting, fatigue; DEET poisoning symptoms may include vomiting, rashes, drowsiness, headache, and seizures. So, it looks like I'll be picking my poison...)

The good news for us is it is not the rainy season right now, so the mosquito population should be low. Also according to the World Health Organization, malaria is both preventable and curable. This makes the more than one million malaria deaths around the world a quite appalling reality. But, since we have the access to this cheap prevention and cure if needed, we'll all be fine.

All that is to say, take your malaria pill! I also remember from my previous experiences with these pills they give me very vivid & unusual dreams, so maybe I'll have some exciting dreams to report soon.