After three days of constant fever, I finally made it down town to do a malaria test. I haven’t had malaria since 1998, but you can never know. Malaria can come with both high or low fever, with other signs or complications or just as it is. In either case, the quicker you’ve excluded (or detected!) the disease, the better.

The N’Wala pharmacy opened recently and also does malaria tests. Just make sure to ask for a unused needle.

My sister reminded me just before I left and I almost shrugged it off, as the new pharmacy is so clean compared to other clinics, and even has a functioning air condition. Still, as the laboratian quickly selected his needle and I didn’t have time to see if it was new, I made sure to ask. He responded in an instant by throwing the needle away and selecting a new one, one that had obviously not been used before. I think that answered my question pretty clearly. Whew!

The waiting time was not long, and within an hour it was concluded that the test was negative. No malaria! Good news, even though it did not explain the long-term fever.

Sheba was happy to see me back home again. So far, her cuddles and snuggles have proven the best medicine!