Cheryl health: ‘It was the scariest thing’ Disease which left star fighting for her life
Cheryl, 36, who’s currently appearing on the judging panel of the BBC’s The Greatest Dancer competition, contracted malaria after a trip to Tanzania. Malaria is a serious tropical disease spread by mosquitoes, and if it isn’t diagnosed and treated quickly enough, it can prove fatal.
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In a video for Sports Relief, Cheryl said: “It was the scariest thing you could ever imagine for me and for my friends and family.
“The pain I felt and went through, it’s what so many people go through, all because they don’t have a mosquito net which could save their life.”
A year before Cheryl fell critically ill, she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro for charity to raise money for people battling Malaria in third world countries.
She said: “When I climbed Kilimanjaro for Comic Relief five years ago it was honestly one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.
“I didn’t for one minute think that only a year later I would get malaria myself and become so ill that at one point I was given 24 hours to live.
“The motivation lay in knowing it could help in eradicating malaria and ultimately saving lives by providing mosquito nets.”
Following the incident, Cheryl has shown support to Sport Relief, raising awareness and money for the mosquito-borne disease.
In a bid to raise funds for the cause in 2014, Cheryl explained: “I was lucky; I had the best care I could get. Some people are not so lucky.
“A £5 mosquito net could keep a child safe and really does help,’’ she will tell viewers in an effort to encourage them to donate.
“In 2009 when I climbed Kilimanjaro a million kids a year were dying of malaria, now five years later it’s 150,000 less per year.
“That’s 150,000 kids saved so we are beating malaria
“I’ve decided to speak out about this again now because having experienced it, it’s obviously very close to my heart and I want people to know how easy it is to help.”
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How can you get malaria?
A single mosquito bite is all it takes for someone to become infected, warns the NHS.
The health body explains: “Malaria is caused by the Plasmodium parasite. The parasite can be spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
“The plasmodium parasite is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are known as “night-biting” mosquitoes because they most commonly bite between dusk and dawn.
“If a mosquito bites a person already infected with malaria, it can also become infected and spread the parasite on to other people. However, malaria can’t be spread directly from person to person.
“Once you’re bitten, the parasite enters the bloodstream and travels to the liver. The infection develops in the liver before re-entering the bloodstream and invading the red blood cells.
“The parasites grow and multiply in the red blood cells. At regular intervals, the infected blood cells burst, releasing more parasites into the blood. Infected blood cells usually burst every 48-72 hours. Each time they burst, you’ll have a bout of fever, chills and sweating.
“Malaria can also be spread through blood transfusions and the sharing of needles, but this is very rare.”
Symptoms of malaria to watch out for
The symptoms of malaria can develop as quickly as seven days after you’ve been bitten.
Initial symptoms include:
- A high temperature of 38C or above
- Feeling hot and shivery
- Headaches
- Vomiting
- Muscle pains
- Diarrhoea
- Generally feeling unwell
If you experience the symptoms of malaria during or after a visit to an area where the disease is found, seek medical advice immediately.
Malaria is found in more than 100 countries – mainly in large areas of Africa and Asia, Central and South America, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, parts of the Middle East, and some Pacific islands.
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