The incredible story of the 50-year old doctor who has suffered from malaria 50 times

(Image credit: Motherboard)

Dr John Lusingu was all of 16 when he got malaria the first time. As expected, the disease hit his body hard. He had fever, joint pain, diarrhea and even blurred vision. It got so bad that he even had to be hospitalized.

Though he recovered soon after, it was sadly not his last meeting with malaria.

For the next 12 years, Lusingu continued to suffer frequent bouts of malaria every year-sometimes even upto ten times a year.

Now, 50 years old, he has had malaria more than 50 times in his life and the shocking part is that in Tanzania, where he lives- this is not out of the ordinary, infact it is the usual.

Reportedly, malaria has been known to kill up to 80,000 people every year in the country, with children under five being at the greatest risk.

Growing up, Lusingu had never been fond of bednets, as it reminded me of the funeral palls used to cover dead bodies and so he would end up not sleeping under it at night.

But, he quickly got over his apprehension and started sleeping under a bednet to protect himself from the plight of the mosquitoes after his first bout of malaria. But, little did he know that would be of little help.

Year after year he continued suffering from the disease and after dozens of infections, his body had finally built up enough immunity to be asymptomatic when the parasite breaks in.

The last time he got sick from malaria was when he was 28 years old.

For the next 23 years, malaria just became a way of life for him.

But not one to quit without putting up a fight, Lusingu dedicated his entire life to find a vaccine for the disease that is yet to leave him alone.