Guess What?

Two lines is positive.

One line is negative.

I'm  ....

But, first

...

do you even know what you are looking at?

That little gadget is every woman, man, and child's friend.  The rapid malaria test.  Just placing a droplet of blood on the device can determine if you have malaria within minutes.  Any guesses as to what my results were?

I'm still malaria free. 

Yeah!

Just a little malaria FYI for you.  Even if that test comes up negative, the lab still checks your blood for the parasite and as of late even your platelet and white blood cell count.  When it comes to malaria (and other diseases) we don't mess around here.  If you have a fever, it's best to go to a medical facility for a malaria test.  If caught early, malaria is very treatable.  People half act as if they have the flu when they have malaria and for the most part, it's no biggie. The government even provides treatment medication free of charge.  In fact, it is even advised to carry treatment meds when you leave a malaria containing country.  Just about every non-malaria country will practically let you die before they acknowledge that you have the disease and then they often don't have the meds readily available to treat malaria, including the good old USA. 

It is also important to remember that malaria is somewhat preventable.  Take the preventative malaria meds if you can, sleep under a net, and wear mosquito repellent when you're exposed.  I've also found that running fans helps keep mosquitos away, too. 

With all of that said, Africa is still an amazing place and I highly recommend you visit it if you can.  Don't let my ramblings scare you.  Malaria is preventable and treatable.  :)