Malaria took her daughter and came for her grandson ...'we get it time and again'

BABY Dilan lies curled against his grandmother's chest, his curious brown eyes watching closely as she tells her story.

- By Hanna Geissler

Judith Lomayani Laizer has cared for the seven-month-old since his mum — her daughter Josephine — died in May aged just 25. The Daily Express heard their heartbreaking tale in Tanzania, where scientists are working to eliminate malaria — the disease that killed Josephine.

She was diagnosed with malaria and a urinary tract infection at hospital after developing a headache and chills. Despite receiving treatment, she died a week and a half later.

Judith, 42, remembers her daughter resting at home and hoping her symptoms would pass. She says: “She became very weak, she wasn’t even able to get out of bed. We rushed her to the hospital but before the doctors could even do any more tests, she passed away.”

Malaria claims almost 600,000 lives every year including 25,000 in Tanzania. In Keko, where Judith and Dilan live, the parasitic disease poses a constant threat.

Not long after losing Josephine, Dilan started vomiting in the middle of the night. “We thought maybe he just needed to rest,” Judith says. “But in the morning, he had a fever. We were worried so that evening we took him to the hospital.

“The doctors said he had malaria and a blood infection.”

As the sickness ravaged his tiny body, Dilan was given medication and an intravenous drip. Watching him lie still in the hospital bed, Judith was worried.

“He usually has a good appetite but he wasn’t eating. Everything he ate, he would vomit up. He was very weak and not as cheerful as usual.”

Thankfully Dilan made a full recovery and Judith, who sells secondhand clothing for a living, hopes he may grow up to be a doctor.