Inside the malaria clinic
In Tanzania’s Sengerema hospital, Head Nurse Tellems says malaria cases are more common than any other diagnosis.
At the Sengerema hospital in Tanzania, Head Nurse Tellems takes the Lifelines team around the malaria ward, which sees a huge number of people, including children, being admitted.
“In each bed we have two children. This is because there are a huge number admitted,” Nurse Tellems says.
“The capacity of the ward is small and the [number of] admission[s] is high. Malaria cases are more common than any other diagnosis.”
Malaria is caused by a parasite that is transmitted from person to person by a particular type of mosquito.
Even though it is both preventable and treatable, every 60 seconds a child dies from the disease. Malaria is one of the top three killers of children worldwide.
The Lifelines team follows medical professionals working to control the disease in east Africa.
Lifelines: The Quest for Global Health will air on Al Jazeera in 2014.