When Malaria Plays Favourites👀

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On a hot Nigerian night without power supply, Africa’s most unwanted pest comes to greet two sleeping fans that always seem to clap for it. The same annoying buzz, the same mosquito, the same night.

Yet a week later only one of them is burning with fever and regretting his existence, while the other looks on feeling absolutely fine. It’s almost seems unfair, as if malaria picked a favorite.

Well, what if it actually does?

Not out of luck or village people, but through something far older – evolution and genes.

For the year 2025, mortality attributed to malaria was recorded as no less than 50 per 1000 in Nigeria by the Severe Malaria Observatory.

World Health Organization recorded 597,000 malaria caused deaths in 2023, with 263 million new cases and 95% of those cases were in African countries.

Therefore the reality? Malaria is no small infection, it still remains a top tier global health concern despite global health advances.

Source: Freepik

The Unequal Bite🦟

Malaria has haunted humanity for centuries, in many parts of Africa, it’s even woven into childhood.

Back to the matter of favorites though, malaria doesn’t seem to treat everyone the same. You might notice that one friend that falls sick with it again and again, while others brush off infection with barely show a symptom.

I’ve been thinking about it lately and yes Doctors noticed it long ago too.

In fact, they discovered something more interesting, they saw that people with the AA genotype often battled with malaria more than those with the AS genotype – people who carry what we now call the Sickle cell trait.

We often say that though, it’s common “knowledge” we use to tease friends that are AA and call them more susceptible, everyone has a laugh.

Million dollar question though, do you even know if you’re right and if you do, do you know why it is so?

I can bet good money that you don’t! No worries though, as always JTM is here to educate you.

So why would a sickling gene something we associate with disease be a form of protection?

Source: Freepik

Inside the Bloodstream🩸

Let’s take a closer look.

Malaria begins when Plasmodium falciparum which is the deadliest of malaria parasites enters your blood stream through a mosquito’s bite.

It goes through various stages and then enters your red blood cells, feasting, multiplying and bursting them open.

The presence of the parasite and every burst brings on the fever, chills and weakness we associate with malaria.

Now the parasite thrives inside the red blood cells, the normal kind that people with AA genotype possess in abundance, they are perfect homes, quite hospitable to the vice and what is it that those with AS genotype do not have?

Yes, that’s it, they do not have that abundance of normal red blood cells, and instead they have a twist, one normal hemoglobin gene A and one sickle hemoglobin gene S so under stress or low oxygen, their cells slightly deform in shape just enough to make the plasmodium wish it never tried its luck.

You see, the parasite tries to invade these sickled red cells, but the cell resists. It shrinks in size, stiffens, and sometimes actually dies before the parasite can grow. If the parasite sneaks in, the body tends to destroy the infected cells faster because they’re not normal in the first place.

These houses to malaria collapse mid-construction providing an effective protection against infection.

Source: Freepik

Nature always finds a balance🌿

The existence of abnormal red cells wasn’t just an unwanted happening, scientists like to call it nature’s deal, harsh but clever.

A survival trade off written deep in our DNA.

In areas where malaria claimed countless lives for centuries, human DNA made a trade, it swapped healthy red cells for imperfect ones that could fight back.

A red blood cell slightly flawed but wise.

In the 1950s, British Scientist A.C Allison linked sickle trait to malaria resistance and the study changed how disease and genetics were viewed in generations to come. The sickle cell gene survived because it provided protection in malaria heavy regions and evolution favored those with one copy AS not SS because having two means sure disease.

This is called a Balanced Polymorphism where nature balances between protection and pain but of course, it was a cruel mercy because the gene that saves some, sickens and kills others.

I knew this information prior to reading this blog

• 0%Yes, exciting to learn more though! 💯
• 0%No, was great to learn😉

Beyond Genes & Balances💉

Definitely, genes aren’t destiny and modern medicine, mosquito control and preventive measures have changed stories.

So my dear AA warriors, you can stay malaria free with the right protection from preventive insecticidal nets to antimalarial drugs💊

Now that you have some backing to your common knowledge, it’s important to raise awareness and practice preventive measures.

Stay safe everyone✨