Search - Malaria: Fever Wars on DVD

ANOTHER disease harming the Motherland

Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 01/17/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This documentary discussed the widespread incidence of malaria, its function, possible cures, and (in)action on the matter. My copy said the work would be an hour; it was actually two hours long. It felt a bit like overkill. However, this was an eye-opening work. Those interested in immunology, public policy, and progressive causes may truly be moved by this. Then again, if you hate insects, you may be too squeamish to see this.
I'm a bit surprised that the problem was so serious. I heard that while foreigners died of malaria while making the Panama Canal, native Central Americans did not. Some theorize that sickle cell may be a reaction to fight off malaria among Africans and people of African descent. This work speaks of how malaria becomes resistant to cures. I thought many people in malaria-heavy areas grew immunities to the illness. Oops! I guess I learned incorrectly.
This work never mentions HIV/AIDS. Still, I wonder if each disease exacerbates the other. They mentioned that maybe T-cells can be altered to fight the malaria parasite, but I'm guessing that wouldn't happen for the HIV-positive who have few or no T-cells. Malaria seems to be rampant in Southern Africa, just as HIV is. This intersection should have been covered more.
The work is fair in showing black Kenyans and white Floridians who suffer from the disease. Since the numbers are lower in Florida, the documentary spends less time on it, rightfully so. It's very smart that they covered Floridians because it does give the message that it could happen in the US and that Americans must pay attention. However, since the bulk of the problem exists in Africa, the work is focused there, again rightfully so.
Jeffrey Sachs seems to being doing for malaria what Bob Geldof did for starvation two decades ago. One Oxford researcher, who spoke just like Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, has dedicated him medical work to fight this disease. As an African American, I was pleased to see white individuals fighting valiantly to save blacks; really it made me embarrassed that I and others in my community haven't done more.
Though an American (Bill Curtis?) narrates, all captions were written in British English. Some Kenyans do performance art to advertise bed nets and it is just hilarious. One chief spends money to save a child with malaria. However, I wonder if he saved the child because the child was male. There seemed to be female malaria victims who, sadly, received no relief."