Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite that lives in both mosquitoes and humans; Wikipedia defines malaria as a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia and Africa. However malaria is a nightmare for me, it's a scary as hell, very frustrating and intimidating disease that gets you down. In my village, malaria is a common disease during the rainy season due to the presence of stagnant water which is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. My first experience with malaria was at the age of 12. I remember missing school due to being hospitalized for about two weeks. Quinine drip was the drug of choice at that time, the side effects of this drug were worse than the effects of malaria. Personally I call it nightmare disease because I remember the scary dreams I had during my malaria attack, I had hallucinations and I didn't want my mother to turn off the lights at night, I wanted her to hold me tight and even if I almost fell asleep, I didn't want close your eyes. To this day I will do everything to prevent this number one deadly disease in Africa. The symptoms of malaria were described in ancient Chinese medical writings, but the word "Malaria" was not yet in use. In 2700 BC, several symptoms characteristic of what would later be called malaria were described in the Nei Ching, The Canon of Medicine. "Malaria" became widely recognized in Greece in the 4th century BC and was responsible for the decline of many city-state populations. Hippocrates noted the main symptoms. In the time of Pericles, there were extensive references to "malaria" in the literature and... middle of paper... the best antimalarial drug before traveling, always use mosquito nets when sleeping, and seek early treatment in case of infection. Malaria, unlike HIV/AIDS, is treatable. Works Cited Accelerating Malaria Vaccine Development. (2010). Retrieved from http://”Acceleration malariaVaccine,” 2010/CDC: Global Health - Division of Parasitic Diseases Atlanta, GA:CDC. Retrieved December 5, 2010, from http://www.cdc, 2010/malaria/harper, D. (2008, August 26). Etymon. Retrieved from http://etymonline.comKakkilaya, B. (2010, November 09). Malariasite: all about malaria. Retrieved from http://www.kakkilaya, 2010/Malaria. (2009, April 8). Retrieved from http://www."Malaria", 2009/introduction/Malaria"Malaria". Nobel Prize, 2010. December 6, 2010 http://nobelprize, 2010/educational/medicine/malaria/"malaria." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.