Malaria- One mosquito bite could result in brain damage
Oct 12, 2008
SANYU was born normal. She crawled, cried, played and talked like all infants do until the age of five when her growth stunted and she became crippled, deaf, dumb, and cannot sit upright or move by herself.
By Patrick Mutebi
SANYU was born normal. She crawled, cried, played and talked like all infants do until the age of five when her growth stunted and she became crippled, deaf, dumb, and could not sit upright or move by herself.
Sanyu’s body is like that of a 10-year-old, but her face befits her age — she turns 23 this month. Sanyu also lost her sense of feeling and what only seems to be functioning are her eyes which she keeps rolling, although you cannot tell whether she can see.
Sanyu often pops out her tongue, as she turns her head and passes out urine and faeces uncontrollably. She has to be cleaned, bathed and fed.
There are two explanations for her condition. One from her family and the other from doctors. Sanyu’s mother, Jalia Nakyanzi, says her daughter is possessed by spirits (mijini) and blames it on her husband, Abdu Majidu
“He took my child and presented her as a sacrifice to the gods because he wanted to become rich,†she says, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Nakyanzi says from the time Sanyu was only five, she wanted to unite her with her Kenyan father whom she had never met.
But Nakyanzi says when she took Sanyu to Mombasa, she suffered from malaria. Sanyu also developed big swellings all over her body and became crippled and deaf.
“Majidu’s neigbours say, on several occasions, they saw him go to witch doctors. I was told that a witch doctor told him to sacrifice his most beloved child to get riches. I had to cut short my one-week visit and returned to Uganda immediately, but it was too late to avert the situation,†she says.
Since then, neither Nakyanzi nor her children have seen Majidu. In 2006, when Nakyanzi tried to trace Majidu in Kenya, his neighbours said he had moved to an unknown location.
“I have sent several letters to him, hoping I will convince him to avert Sanyu’s situation, but I have not received any reply,†Nakyanzi says.
For 10 years, Sanyu was not taken to hospital because her mother says she did not have money. But when Sanyu got another malaria attack, Nakyanzi took her to Mulago Hospital.
Her condition became worse and the doctors could not do much. They referred her to India for physiotherapy, but Nakyanzi could not afford it, so she took her back home.
Dr. Charles Kasozi of Mulago Hospital, says Sanyu suffers from cerebral palsy which is caused by cerebral malaria. This disease, he says, affects more than 750,000 children every year in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It is one of the deadliest outcomes of malaria. It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to contract the disease that directly affects the brain, causing fever, vomiting, chills, and coma,†he says.
“Cerebral malaria parasites cause small blood clots in the brain, affecting blood supply to the brain and damaging it,†he explains.
Cerebral palsy disorders are associated with brain development injuries that occur during fetal development, birth or within the first two to five years.
Treatment depends on the degree of brain damage. In Sanyu’s case, her brain is severely damaged, much as she survived death which is usually the end result.
He suggests solutions like feeding her on a special diet through a tube that goes through the nose to the stomach, taking her to a physiotherapist for exercises to prevent more joint damage and counselling.
Kasozi says: “Our people are ignorant of the fact that malaria kills more people everyday in Africa than AIDS.â€
“People must treat malaria in children below the age of five as soon as it is recognised and consider it as an emergency.†Efforts must be made to treat malaria urgently in children and pregnant mothers because it affects them equally.
“Malaria can cause abortion, intra-uterine fetal death (death of child inside the womb) and death of pregnant women because the placenta creates a good environment for malaria parasites,†he adds.
Pregnant women need to have regular checkups to prevent occurrences of brain damage in their unborn babies. Sanyu, the last-born, lives with her mother and sister, Aisha Nankinga, in a one-roomed house in Kyengera, Wakiso.
Nakyanzi buys clothes from Owino Market and hawks them to raise money.
“My marriage fell apart because of Sanyu’s condition.
When I told my husband to visit Sanyu, he said he was no longer interested in me because Sanyu’s condition could be hereditary,†Nankinga says.
What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy could be caused by cerebral malaria. It affects more than 750,000 children every year in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It is one of the deadliest outcomes of malaria. It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to contract the disease that directly affects the brain, causing fever, vomiting, chills, and coma,†says Dr Charles Kasozi of Mulago Hospital.
Cerebral palsy disorders are associated with developmental brain injuries that occur during fetal development, birth or within the first two to five years.
Cause, signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy
DR. Kasozi says signs and symptoms include delayed or abnormal movement, stiffness or floppiness, uncoordinated movement, or a slight limp and birth defects such as an irregular shaped spine, small head, a stiff jaw, drooling, crying and sucking and swallowing problems
Other symptoms are seizures, spasms, visual and hearing problems, hyperactivity and learning disorders.
Kasozi says other causes are delivering later than normal (exceeding 18 hours), especially for women carrying their first pregnancy as the child may suffer fetal distress which damages the brain.
Maternal infections during pregnancy like measles or herpes simplex (viral infections of the genital areas that can be transmitted from a mother to her unborn baby) can cause brain infections.
These include neonatal meningitis which results from unhygienic delivery like the case of traditional birth attendants or if the midwives are not skilled enough and they continue to do unnecessary vaginal examinations.
“Birth trauma, premature birth and central nervous system infections also contribute to cerebral palsyâ€, Kasozi adds.
SANYU was born normal. She crawled, cried, played and talked like all infants do until the age of five when her growth stunted and she became crippled, deaf, dumb, and could not sit upright or move by herself.
Sanyu’s body is like that of a 10-year-old, but her face befits her age — she turns 23 this month. Sanyu also lost her sense of feeling and what only seems to be functioning are her eyes which she keeps rolling, although you cannot tell whether she can see.
Sanyu often pops out her tongue, as she turns her head and passes out urine and faeces uncontrollably. She has to be cleaned, bathed and fed.
There are two explanations for her condition. One from her family and the other from doctors. Sanyu’s mother, Jalia Nakyanzi, says her daughter is possessed by spirits (mijini) and blames it on her husband, Abdu Majidu
“He took my child and presented her as a sacrifice to the gods because he wanted to become rich,†she says, with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Nakyanzi says from the time Sanyu was only five, she wanted to unite her with her Kenyan father whom she had never met.
But Nakyanzi says when she took Sanyu to Mombasa, she suffered from malaria. Sanyu also developed big swellings all over her body and became crippled and deaf.
“Majidu’s neigbours say, on several occasions, they saw him go to witch doctors. I was told that a witch doctor told him to sacrifice his most beloved child to get riches. I had to cut short my one-week visit and returned to Uganda immediately, but it was too late to avert the situation,†she says.
Since then, neither Nakyanzi nor her children have seen Majidu. In 2006, when Nakyanzi tried to trace Majidu in Kenya, his neighbours said he had moved to an unknown location.
“I have sent several letters to him, hoping I will convince him to avert Sanyu’s situation, but I have not received any reply,†Nakyanzi says.
For 10 years, Sanyu was not taken to hospital because her mother says she did not have money. But when Sanyu got another malaria attack, Nakyanzi took her to Mulago Hospital.
Her condition became worse and the doctors could not do much. They referred her to India for physiotherapy, but Nakyanzi could not afford it, so she took her back home.
Dr. Charles Kasozi of Mulago Hospital, says Sanyu suffers from cerebral palsy which is caused by cerebral malaria. This disease, he says, affects more than 750,000 children every year in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It is one of the deadliest outcomes of malaria. It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to contract the disease that directly affects the brain, causing fever, vomiting, chills, and coma,†he says.
“Cerebral malaria parasites cause small blood clots in the brain, affecting blood supply to the brain and damaging it,†he explains.
Cerebral palsy disorders are associated with brain development injuries that occur during fetal development, birth or within the first two to five years.
Treatment depends on the degree of brain damage. In Sanyu’s case, her brain is severely damaged, much as she survived death which is usually the end result.
He suggests solutions like feeding her on a special diet through a tube that goes through the nose to the stomach, taking her to a physiotherapist for exercises to prevent more joint damage and counselling.
Kasozi says: “Our people are ignorant of the fact that malaria kills more people everyday in Africa than AIDS.â€
“People must treat malaria in children below the age of five as soon as it is recognised and consider it as an emergency.†Efforts must be made to treat malaria urgently in children and pregnant mothers because it affects them equally.
“Malaria can cause abortion, intra-uterine fetal death (death of child inside the womb) and death of pregnant women because the placenta creates a good environment for malaria parasites,†he adds.
Pregnant women need to have regular checkups to prevent occurrences of brain damage in their unborn babies. Sanyu, the last-born, lives with her mother and sister, Aisha Nankinga, in a one-roomed house in Kyengera, Wakiso.
Nakyanzi buys clothes from Owino Market and hawks them to raise money.
“My marriage fell apart because of Sanyu’s condition.
When I told my husband to visit Sanyu, he said he was no longer interested in me because Sanyu’s condition could be hereditary,†Nankinga says.
What is Cerebral Palsy?
Cerebral palsy could be caused by cerebral malaria. It affects more than 750,000 children every year in sub-Saharan Africa.
“It is one of the deadliest outcomes of malaria. It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to contract the disease that directly affects the brain, causing fever, vomiting, chills, and coma,†says Dr Charles Kasozi of Mulago Hospital.
Cerebral palsy disorders are associated with developmental brain injuries that occur during fetal development, birth or within the first two to five years.
Cause, signs and symptoms of cerebral palsy
DR. Kasozi says signs and symptoms include delayed or abnormal movement, stiffness or floppiness, uncoordinated movement, or a slight limp and birth defects such as an irregular shaped spine, small head, a stiff jaw, drooling, crying and sucking and swallowing problems
Other symptoms are seizures, spasms, visual and hearing problems, hyperactivity and learning disorders.
Kasozi says other causes are delivering later than normal (exceeding 18 hours), especially for women carrying their first pregnancy as the child may suffer fetal distress which damages the brain.
Maternal infections during pregnancy like measles or herpes simplex (viral infections of the genital areas that can be transmitted from a mother to her unborn baby) can cause brain infections.
These include neonatal meningitis which results from unhygienic delivery like the case of traditional birth attendants or if the midwives are not skilled enough and they continue to do unnecessary vaginal examinations.
“Birth trauma, premature birth and central nervous system infections also contribute to cerebral palsyâ€, Kasozi adds.