Interview with Eric van Diessen, winner of 'World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story'

   Photo: Eric at the hospital in Uganda (2010)

Eric van Diessen, medical student in Utrecht, is one of the three winners of the 'World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story' competition that Novartis and Malaria No More organized in the first half of 2010 as part of their joint fight against malaria.

Students were asked to write a story of some 500 words about the burden malaria creates today and what the next generation can do to step up the fight against malaria. The writers also had to indicate why they thought they should win. The competition was aimed at students who had graduated or were on the verge of graduating in, for example, journalism or medicine. The jury chose three winners: an American student, a European student and a South American student.

Novartis Pharma B.V. and Malaria No More! Netherlands interviewed the European winner: the Dutch student Eric van Diessen. You can read his winning story here.

I am 28 years old and am in the last year of the SUMMA programme (Selective Utrecht Medical Masters). SUMMA is a small-scale four-year master's programme in medicine that enables students with the appropriate preparatory education to become a doctor or clinical researcher.

1. How did you find out about the ‘Telling the Malaria Story’ competition?
   
   I had finished my internship in tropical medicine and returned to the Netherlands and was working feverishly on a malaria assignment. My girlfriend told me about the competition. I immediately thought of combining a personal story on my blog with the main conclusions of my malaria assignment.
   
2. What do you think of Malaria No More (MNM) and Novartis’s initiative?
   
   It enables students to share their experiences and/or visions on a wider platform. It's also an invitation to discuss and make more people aware of a huge medical (and social) problem in endemic areas. The more people know about the problem, the better.
   
   
3. Had you ever heard of MNM or Novartis? If yes, how?
   
   I'd seen a Malaria No More poster at the faculty of medicine. Novartis was a name I regularly encountered when I was a houseman.
   
   
4. What do you think of MNM's and Novartis's malaria activities?
   
   What I like about Malaria No More is that you immediately know what their mission is: it’s embedded in the name of the charity! And their campaigns appeal to the younger generation (also because they use the new social media well). Novartis's initiative in 2001 to reduce the price of antimalarial drugs was very admirable and will hopefully encourage other (pharmaceutical) companies and organizations to do the same. This is one of those examples that should be followed!
   
   
5. In your blog, you write that you did an internship in tropical medicine (where?) and were exposed to malaria. How much exposure did you have and what did you see during your internship?
   
   I did a two-month internship in a remote village in rural Uganda (Mateete, Ssembabule). There's a high prevalence of malaria there, and the number of malaria patients rose sharply during the rainy season. A lot of the patients had to be hospitalized because treatment by the local clinic and traditional healer simply wasn’t enough. The result was that many of these generally young malaria patients were extremely weak by the time they reached the hospital. Typical malaria complications, such as hypoglycaemia (low blood glucose) and anaemia (lack of red blood cells) were not uncommon. Although the malaria could usually be treated, young patients died (daily) of the serious complications. I saw an average of 20 to 30 malaria patients a day; during the day and at night.
   
   
6. Does your study programme address malaria? What do you think should/could be changed?
   
   Malaria was addressed as part of the syllabus on infectious diseases when I was at medical school. Although I gained insight into the pathophysiology of the disease, I never saw a malaria patient during my internships in the Netherlands. Seeing malaria patients in situ was very educational. Medical schools should encourage students to do internships in tropical diseases so housemen can experience diseases such as malaria. Most of the faculties in the Netherlands now have an encouragement policy and the medical faculty in Utrecht recently started a global health course that treats malaria in detail.
   
   
7. Have you ever gone to a malaria-infected area, for example, on holiday or for your studies?
   
   Several trips have taken me to areas where malaria is endemic.
   
   
8. Have you ever had malaria?
   
   No, I've never had malaria. Probably because of the precautions I take (mosquito net, antimalarial drugs, and insect repellent gel).
   
   
9. Do you know Westerners or non-Westerners who died of severe cases of malaria?
   
   When I was in Uganda, the wife of the Ugandan doctor I was working with contracted a severe form of malaria. I got to see what malaria does to you from close up. She was really weak and nauseous. All she wanted to do was sleep. She started feeling better after about a week and a half.
   
   
10. How would you tackle malaria? What do you consider to be the most important factors?
    
    I think it depends on the country. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there's a ‘threshold’ to go to hospital. For some patients, the threshold is the distance, for others it's money, and a lot of patients first visit a local clinic or traditional healer. I think the thresholds need to be removed, especially in rural areas. Better reachability through outreach programmes, minimization of out-of-pocket treatment expenses and education on the treatment and prevention of malaria. I also believe that it’s important that educational material explain the effects of a (severe) malaria infection as clearly as possible. Both the medical complications and the financial impact can have far-reaching consequences for the patient and his or her family.
    
    
11. What do you hope to see and experience during the study trip to Zambia that you won?
    
    When I was in Uganda, I saw what care was needed to treat a malaria infection. During the study trip to Zambia, I hope to gain more insight into education programmes and new initiatives to fight malaria. I'm also looking forward to meeting inspiring people who are championing the cause.

Eric van Diessen will blog in English during his study trip. You can follow his blog via Malaria No More's social networks (Facebook and Hyves).