Since the wake of 2020, we have been plagues by this unrepentant phenomenon called COVID-19. In recent history, the world has never been so hit in one blow in any way as devastating as the corona virus.
As at today, we already have over 6 million deaths from the corona virus and over 500 million confirmed cases.
The toll keeps rising though at different rates per time.
Right now most countries have however relaxed their restrictions on COVID-19 preventive measures. Vaccines have been developed and virulence rates are lower, despite having new strains.
In a malaria-endemic country like Nigeria where I currently stay, COVID-19 is tending towards becoming like common cold. People test positive for it and recover in a few days or weeks.
It's also causing a diagnostic dilemma for medical professionals.
In the past one month, I'd seen very atypical presentations of malaria than ever before. I'd seen people come down with the usual malaria symtoms - fever, malaise, generalised body weakness, lack of appetite, body aches etc. They get treatment for malaria, but then come again weeks after with same presentations.
Some of them also tend to have flu-like symptoms like catarrh, cold, sore throat etc, accompanying their other symptoms
Remember that COVID symptoms aren't really all that specific asides the respiratory symptoms.
So that begs the question, could it be COVID 19??
COVID testing isn't readily available here, so most of the time, treatment is done by ruling in and ruling out possiblities.
As at July 1 2022, Lagos (the populous City in Nigeria) recorded a new surge in cases, which is worrisome.
I have a friend in Lagos who just tested positive a few days ago and is having bouts of flu.
I have seen many patients with malaria/flu-like symptoms too.
Even I am just recovering from "malaria".
It started with some funny indigestion, then fever came in.
It felt like I had some food poisoning, but I wasn't sure. I also had some sore throat.
It's a usual Nigerian thing to have antibiotics on ground to forestall any form of infection... this is bad practice, but Nigerians still do it anyway
I considered treating enteritis with antibiotics, but I had to be sure... at least get some testing done.
Flagyl (metronidazole) and Amoxicillin-clavulanate (Augmentin), two of the commonly abused antibiotics in Nigeria
Later that day I came down with all the malaise and the barrage of 'malaria symptoms'. I started treating prophylactically for malaria.
I started Artemether-based Combination Therapy (ACTs) which are recommended as first line for uncomplicated malaria (Artemether-Lumenfantrine to be specific) for 3 days, them continued with Vitamin C tablets.
Paracetamol, ACT (Amatem) and Vitamin C (Vitamin C tablets are not to be taken with ACTs)
I got better on the 2nd day already, but still had traces of sore throat.
By the third day most symptoms were almost gone.
So which one was it?
Could I have had malaria and COVID? Or just malaria? Or perhaps I had COVID.
Are we just having many malaria cases or people are having COVID-19, then we treat malaria and flu and they just recover without any COVID testing done to check that out?
Malaria or COVID-19?
By the way, I'm much better now!