Health Watch: See How Malaria Took Kanu Nwankwo’s Daughter’s Life, Symptoms You Need To Check
Former Super Eagle’s Striker, Kanu Nwankwo lost his first daughter Enitan after brief illness during the week. Reports revealed that she died of malaria.
Enitan was one of the first beneficiaries of the Kanu Nwankwo Heart Foundation initiative. Nwankwo disclosed the unfortunate incident through his twitter handle on Christmas day.
In a rhetorical question, he asked “WHY”? “One of Kanu heart foundation gone. My daughter is gone,” “ I can’t believe this. R I P Enitan God knows all” “so sad sad sad. Don’t know what to do.” He tweeted.
The wife of Kanu Nwankwo, Amara, also lamented on her Instagram page, “ Oh malaria” You took
Enitan from us”. Amara disclosed that Enitan was barely 2 years old when she had her open heart surgery in 1998. She relocated back to Nigeria after graduating from the university to serve and work with the foundation.
“ This is sad news today for me, I don’t know how to take this but God knows best,” she wrote.
“One of our first @kanuheartf beneficiaries passed away. Enitan was just 2 years old when she had her open surgery done in London courtesy of the Kanu Heart Foundation.
“She then became part of my family and 19 years later after completing her university studies.
she came back to work with us in our Lagos office until she passed yesterday from some complications with malaria. “She was kind, sweet and patient. She will be missed by many.
Our condolences go out to her parents and family. This is a reminder to love while you can.” May her lovely
soul rest in peace with the Lord, amen, she prayed.
A few things you need to know about Malaria disease and how to protect yourself from mosquitoes include what a malaria parasite is.
Malaria parasite in your blood is life-threatening and It’s typically transmitted through the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito.
The infected mosquitoes carry the Plasmodium parasite and transmit the disease into your bloodstream as soon as it bites the individual.
And once the parasites are inside your body, they travel to the liver, where they mature. Several days later, the mature parasites enter the bloodstream and begin to infect red blood cells.
It is estimated that within 48 to 72 hours, the parasites inside the red blood cells will begin to multiply, causing the infected cells to burst open and thereafter, the parasites continue to infect red blood cells, resulting in symptoms that occur in cycles that last two to three days at a time.
Malaria is can be found in tropical and subtropical climates where the parasites can live.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)Trusted Source states that, in 2016, there were an estimated 216 million cases of malaria in 91 countries.
And the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 1,700 cases annually.
Most cases of malaria develop in people who travel to countries where malaria is more common especially in third world countries.
To protect yourself from this deadly disease, ensure your environment is always clean. Eat healthy meals and avoid exposing your body to mosquito bites both indoor and during outdoor activities.
